If there is a man who knows a thing or two about weight cutting, it is Darren Till.
The former UFC welterweight title contender recently made his debut at 185-pounds after finally decreeing that the effort required to make the 170-pound limit was becoming far too taxing for his body, winning his debut in the new division via decision against top-ranked Kelvin Gastelum.
Till’s decision to uproot and make the move north came after a couple of instances in his UFC career in which he had trouble on the scales, once in his hometown fight against Stephen Thompson in May of last year and before that against Jessin Ayari a year prior and now that he has abandoned the practice of extreme weight-cutting, he has sounded a warning to UFC veteran Jose Aldo ahead of his upcoming 135-pound debut against Marlon Moraes.
Just seen a photo of aldo
Wow he doesn’t look to good man
I don’t get this cut to 135
I think he is gonna badly struggle or may not even make it
I think it would of been wiser to go up rather than down
As you get older the cut gets harder not easier
I got marlon for this— Darren Till (@darrentill2) December 6, 2019
Some recent photos Jose Aldo, bantamweight edition. pic.twitter.com/oF0VhDVHeF
— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) December 5, 2019
“Just seen a photo of Aldo,” Till wrote on Twitter on Friday afternoon. “Wow he doesn’t look [too] good man. I don’t get this cut to 135. I think he is gonna badly struggle or may not even make it. I think it would [have] been wiser to go up rather than down. As you get older the cut gets harder not easier. I got Marlon for this.”
However despite Till’s cautionary warning, Aldo recently told MMA Fighting that his decision to drop down a division has been easier than he anticipated.
“The process is still going on, we’re entering the final stage now,” he said. “The weight cut is going smooth. I thought it would be more complicated since I never went through a diet before, never did something like this.
“I usually just cut weight during fight week, but this time I had a diet. Man, as incredible as it sounds, I’m feeling great, fast, stronger, so it’s been fine. I have the support of great professionals by my side so everything will be alright.”
Aldo’s first opponent in his new division, former title challenger Moraes, will be an intriguing test. Both fighters are cut from a similar cloth and favour a a buzzsaw style of Muay Thai attacks. Moraes, though, is considered by most to be a natural 135-pound fighter so speculation persists that it could be a weight issue — and not necessarily a skill differential — which paints the picture of their fight.
Jose Aldo vs. Marlon Moraes will take place on the main card of the upcoming UFC 245 scheduled for December 14 in the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
