Jack Hermansson had a "bad feeling" that Darren Till would pull out of UFC London when the Brit failed to acknowledge the fight booking between them.
Hermansson was scheduled to fight Till this Saturday in the co-main event of UFC London, but Till withdrew from the middleweight matchup earlier this month due to an undisclosed injury. It marks the second time Till has pulled out of a booking against Hermansson, with the Swede also claiming Till once turned down the fight several years ago.
Till's absence from UFC London means almost a year has passed since his last fight. The former welterweight title challenger tore his ACL ligament before his submission loss to Derek Brunson last September, a fight that marked his third consecutive loss.
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Hermansson said of Till's withdrawal: "I kind of anticipated it throughout the whole camp, I don't know but I just had a bad feeling about it. Maybe because the first time I wanted to fight him, he declined the fight. Second time, he pulled out from the fight. The third time, he didn't even announce the fight himself.
"I couldn't see any sign of him fighting and it just gave me a bad feeling about it, so to be honest I wasn't surprised. It's a big part of the MMA game and it happens all of the time, so you just need to be ready for anything. Immediately when Darren pulled out I asked the UFC for a ranked opponent and checked out who was available, they didn't have a ranked opponent for me. They offered Chris Curtis and I said yes."
Till admitted that withdrawing from UFC London has taken a toll on his mental health, telling BlockAsset : "I’m at a f****ng low point. I feel like I’m in a Tyson Fury moment. Obviously I’m not drinking and taking drugs. That’s not my way, but I still feel like that. It’s just such a f****ng depressing time for me at the moment."
