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A fast rise is far from abnormal in the UFC as they have seen plenty of great young fighters move quickly through the rankings.
It is always a tough balance though as these young fighters are exciting and every generation brings bigger and bigger potential.
Fighters coming through the rankings now have that potential to be crossover stars with a better understanding of how to do just that.
Not every young fighter is built for that but there are many who have the perfect personality to become a star outside of the octagon.
The biggest thing standing in the way is the fact that they have to be good in the octagon to become a star outside of the octagon.
Without winning here is no stardom as a fighter can talk all they want but if they don’t win and win often they are ignored as just a blow-hard.
Conor McGregor is the blueprint for most right now and although his latest performances were not the best he was the first fighter to win two titles at the same time.
He was successful in the octagon and had the personality to be big outside of the octagon as well.
His rise was one of the rare ones where he came in with a legend and met expectations then surpassed them quickly.
That is not always the case as a lot of these younger fighters are pushed too far too quickly and lose all of their momentum.
Although there are a lot of young fighters with a lot of talent there is no doubt that they all reach a spot where talent is not good enough.
The UFC is full of fighters that will show young prospects exactly where they stand in the rankings for MMA fighters throughout the world.
It happens in every sport, these young and talented athletes reach a point where that natural talent won’t get them any further.
Darren Till is just the latest in a long line of fighters who got that harsh wake-up after becoming one of the top prospects in the UFC.
Till is built essentially like McGregor in that he has a belief in himself as being the best in the world is unshakable.
He talks the talk and he was walking the walk for three years in the UFC dominating some big names in the welterweight division.
He quickly moved up the rankings and was able to beat out fighters like Donald Cerrone and Stephen Thompson.
It was an impressive run and his talk outside of the octagon was making him a bigger star leading many people wanting to see him get his shot.
It might not have been the smartest way to deal with a talent like Till but after his win over Thompson, he earned a title shot against Tyron Woodley.
It seemed to be too much too soon for Till who had made his way through the rankings thanks to some favourable matchups.
The striker was taking on other strikers and his size was allowing him to dominate and earn knockouts every step of the way.
He was up against a wrestler with power and it wasn’t a good match giving Till his first loss in the UFC.
Since that loss in 2018, Till has been on the sidelines looking to do one of the toughest things to do in MMA.
After all of the hype surrounding him, he was exposed by the champion and was seen as not being good enough.
Now he has to try to work his way back and prove that he belongs among the best despite the fact that he was overpowered by one of the best.
Trying to gain that hype back is never easy because the question will always be there about whether or not he learned from his loss.
His first attempt to show that he has learned and that he can come back will be close to his hometown of Liverpool when he fights as the main event in London.
Till will take on Jorge Masvidal Who himself is trying to find his way back to the top of the division after two straight losses.
If Till can win he can start his track back to the title conversation but it is never easy as there is now a blueprint to beat him and he has to show he can overcome that to continue to win.
The Sport Addiction 