[autotag]Darren Till[/autotag]’s 2022 return will have to hold off for now.
The former UFC title challenger has suffered an injury and been forced to withdraw from his scheduled middleweight contest against [autotag]Jack Hermansson[/autotag]. The two were set to meet in the co-main event of UFC Fight Night 208 in London on July 23.
The news was confirmed by MMA Junkie on Wednesday following a report from UFC broadcast partner ESPN.
And it appears it didn’t take long for Hermansson to get a replacement opponent. Although not formally announced by the promotion, the UFC’s official website lists Chris Curtis (23-8 MMA, 3-0 UFC) as his new opponent.
Curtis has won eight straight fights on the heels of a three-fight skid in the PFL in 2019. He signed with the UFC in late 2021, more than three years after a win on Dana White’s Contender Series, but not one that earned him a deal. After knockout wins over Phil Hawes and Brendan Allen, Curtis took a unanimous decision from Rodolfo Vieira less than two weeks ago.
[lawrence-related id=2552490,2539615]
This is the second time Till (18-4-1 MMA, 6-4-1 UFC) has pulled out of a bout against Hermansson (22-7 MMA, 9-5 UFC). They previously were scheduled to fight in December 2020 before Till withdrew due to injury.
The Englishman is coming off back-to-back losses and hasn’t seen action since September 2021, when he suffered a submission defeat to Derek Brunson at UFC Fight Night 191. The 29-year-old has only fought three times since returning to middleweight in late 2019. Till currently is 1-4 in his past five outings, with the lone victory coming in a decision against Kelvin Gastelum.
With the change, the UFC Fight Night 208 lineup now includes:
MAIN CARD (ESPN+, 2 p.m. ET)
- Curtis Blaydes vs. Tom Aspinall
- Jack Hermansson vs. TBA
- Jordan Leavitt vs. Paddy Pimblett
- Alexander Gustafsson vs. Nikita Krylov
- Hannah Goldy vs. Molly McCann
- Paul Craig vs. Volkan Oezdemir
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 11 a.m. ET)
- Marc Diakiese vs. Damir Hadzovic
- Makwan Amirkhani vs. Jonathan Pearce
- Charles Rosa vs. Nathaniel Wood
- Charles Johnson vs. Muhammad Mokaev
- Jai Herbert vs. Kyle Nelson
- Mandy Bohm vs. Victoria Leonardo
- Nicolas Dalby vs. Claudio Silva
[vertical-gallery id=459340]