Darren Till appeared on The Ariel Helwani Show ahead of his bare-knuckle debut with BKFC. During the conversation, he talked about his views on UFC CEO Dana White and the current state of the promotion.
Till made it clear that while he still respects White on a personal level, he believes the longtime UFC boss has changed in recent years.
“I don’t want to slag Dana on here because I do like Dana,” Till said. “But I just think Dana’s ego is getting a little bit too much out of control. Like I think he’s totally switched off from the UFC.”
He doubled down when discussing how White interacts with media during post-event scrums, suggesting reporters are reluctant to challenge him directly.
“Every time Dana is in a scrum, it’s like these reporters are scared to say the real thing,” he said. “And when they do ask questions, Dana’s all sort of like, ‘Who gives a s**t.’ We give a s**t. I give a s**t. So give us a f**king answer, baldy. Take your ego away.”
Till also questioned whether White may have simply reached the end of his tenure as the promotion’s driving force.
“Dana’s just lost his mojo, man,” he said. “Even signing Conor Benn, that fig ht with me, just disastrous. I don’t know. Maybe Dana just needs to stop it or not. Maybe he’s had his day.”
The former UFC title challenger went on to admit that his frustration with the promotion has grown to the point where he barely follows it anymore.
“I don’t even watch the UFC no more,” Till said. “I couldn’t tell you half the people who compete on it. The events just aren’t juicy no more. I think they’ve got very few stars left.”
He pointed specifically to what he sees as a decline in the UFC’s promotional storytelling, comparing current output to some of the sport’s most iconic build-ups.
“Where’s all the promos gone?” he asked. “The Holly Holm vs Ronda Rousey where they had the classical music behind it and we watched Ronda Rousey grow and judo, lose at the Olympics. We watched Holly Holm. Where’s the Jon Jones-Daniel Cormier one go? Where’s the Jose Aldo-Conor McGregor promo gone? Where’s it all gone?”
Summing up his feelings about the promotion’s current direction, Till stated, “I think the UFC has gone to f**k a bit. I’m not happy with it.”
