Darren Till goes off: Dana White's 'out of control' ego killing UFC

Former UFC title challenger Darren Till has long since moved on from the promotion, but he still pays attention.

Sort of. But the way things are going, in Till's opinion, there's not going to be much reason to keep tabs on his former home soon. And he thinks a lot of that blame has to fall to his ex-boss, UFC CEO Dana White.

Till, who exited the UFC after a three-fight skid at the end of 2022, had three boxing matches for Misfits in 2025 and won all three against Anthony Taylor, Darren Stewart and former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold. Next up, the Brit will box former Bellator fighter and ex-reality show star Aaron Chalmers at BKFC 90 in Birmingham, England, on May 30. It will be his BKFC debut.

"I don't want to slag Dana on here, because I do like Dana. But I just think Dana's ego's getting a little bit too much out of control," Till said on "The Ariel Helwani Show" earlier this week. "I think he's totally switched off from the UFC. I don't even watch the UFC no more. I couldn't tell you half the people who fight in it. The events just aren't juicy no more. I think they've got very few stars left."

Of that criticism, Till is not alone. And White has heard the blowback from fans in recent years, and particularly of late when it comes to the quality of events at the Meta APEX in the Paramount+ era. The UFC's deal with the streamer started in January, and critics argue the UFC's massive guaranteed annual rights deal doesn't exactly incentivize the matchmakers and White to put on a level of show at the quality that is expected.

Till also thinks members of the MMA media should hold White's feet to the fire and put the onus on him to answer for some of the UFC's decisions, rather than take his decades-long antagonistic response. Till called that bit of White's ego out in a major way.

"I'm pissed off, to be honest, with the media side of things. Every time Dana's in a scrum, it's like these posers are scared to say the real thing," Till said. "When they do ask questions, Dana's always like, 'Who gives a sh*t?' We give a sh*t. I give a sh*t, so give us a f*cking answer, baldy, and skip your ego. Take your ego away. I'm sorry to slag him, because I get along with him. But I give a sh*t. What do you mean, 'Who gives a sh*t?' We give a sh*t, so give us some f*cking answers. What are you on about, 'Who gives a sh*t?' It just annoys me. It's just too much ego."