Darren Till Calls Ian Garry 'Fake' as UFC 330 Title Shot Looms

Ian Machado Garry walks into UFC 330 next Saturday as the No. 1 welterweight contender with a 17-1 record, one loss on his ledger and a title shot against 28-1 champion Islam Makhachev in front of him. What he doesn't have, apparently, is Darren Till's respect. The former welterweight title challenger became the newest name to publicly rip Garry, telling The Mac Life that the Irishman "has got fake written all over him."

Till was careful to frame it as critique rather than hatred. He said he doesn't dislike Garry and even praised him as an obviously talented fighter, but argued that Garry damages his own brand every time he opens his mouth. Garry's latest media round for UFC 330 included a comment that the world would be better run by women — the kind of take that reliably lights up the MMA community and has done so again this week.

Till's Angle

The 18-5-1 Liverpudlian, who owns 10 knockouts and hasn't fought in the UFC's cage since his submission loss to Dricus Du Plessis, positioned himself as pro-women — noting his four daughters and his partner — while insisting the problem is Garry's delivery. Till said Garry always seems to be trying to buy affection, and that if Garry carried himself more like Till, fans would actually warm to him. Whether that's self-awareness or a lack of it is left to the reader.

It's a familiar cycle. Garry has been a polarizing figure since he broke onto the global scene, and fellow fighters have made a habit of taking shots at his public statements. Till's just the most recent, and his timing is loud: the criticism lands as Garry prepares for the biggest fight of his career.

What's Actually at Stake

The noise obscures how good Garry has been. His only professional blemish is a single defeat, and he's coming off a unanimous-decision win over Belal Muhammad — no small résumé line. Now he faces Makhachev, a champion whose 13 submission wins make him one of the most dangerous grapplers in the sport, in a main-event step up in class.

Till, for his part, has his own night booked. He meets Yoel Romero in the headliner of BKFC 94 on September 24, a bare-knuckle bout that's a world away from Garry's five-round title assignment. Two very different fights, one shared talking point — and only one of them ends with a UFC belt on the line.