What Makes Darren Till So Excited to Finally Face 'Scary Guy' Yoel Romero [Exclusive]

When Darren Till signed a ground-breaking deal with the BKFC, not even he knew what to expect. Yet, less than a year in, he already finds himself in what the promotion is calling the "biggest fight in bare-knuckle history."

Till, 1-0, goes up against Yoel Romero, who owns a 1-1 bare-knuckle record. The former UFC title challengers headline BKFC 94 at the AO Arena in Manchester, England.

For Till, the fight comes four months after his second-round knockout win over Aaron Chalmers in his bare-knuckle boxing debut. Although the fight ended with a triumphant highlight, 'The Gorilla' admitted he did not know what to expect in uncharted territory and believes that the way the fight went will lead to a better sophomore performance.

"I think it was just the unknowns," Till told KO on SI. "We didn't really know what to expect in camp and obviously the fight and stuff. So now we know a little bit more about this game. We still obviously ask advice from other people who have fought for a long time; that's why we bring people like that on the team. We're going up against a tough competitor this time. We need to be on our A game."

DARREN TILL ABSOLUTELY FOLDS AARON CHALMERS 🦍#BKFC90 | Live NOW on BKFC+ & YouTube PPV pic.twitter.com/8Y3wlen9gO
— Bare Knuckle FC (@bareknucklefc) May 30, 2026

Till fought Chalmers two months after Romero suffered a unanimous decision loss to Vagab Vagabov in his second bare-knuckle fight. Romero ran through Theo Doukas in his BKFC debut in September 2025, but then he briefly left the promotion to fight Vagabov in the IBA Bare Knuckle 4 main event.

Darren Till reveals Yoel Romero was his only plan

Since beating Chalmers, Till made it clear he had three names on his mind for his next outing — Mike Perry, Lorenzo Hunt and Romero. He ended up getting one of those options, which he revealed was the only offer on the table from the BKFC matchmakers.

"They never mentioned [anybody else] once. You know, I'm building toward the fight with Lorenzo [Hunt] more. But the only name they came to me with was Yoel. So, obviously, it was a yes from my side right away, and I'm sure it was a yes from his side right away as well. It was fairly easy to make this fight, to be honest."

Darren Till | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

BKFC President David Feldman revealed at an ensuing press conference that Romero called him immediately after Till's debut, asking for the fight. The Englishman's popularity made him a common callout for the next few BKFC events before the front office finally pulled the trigger on the Romero matchup.

Till did not hear about Romero's phone call until after signing the contract, but he admitted it only made him more excited for the long-awaited fight.

"I didn't know Yoel called him, though, actually, I'm surprised about that one. I thought they made the offer to me and Yoel all the same, but it's no bother. This makes it more exciting for me, actually, hearing that."

Face-off with Yoel Romero

As if the fight was not already anticipated enough, Till and Romero increased the hype with an intense, four-minute face-off at the BKFC 94 introductory press conference. Neither fighter moved for what felt like a decade in one of the most surreal moments in promotional history.

Till, who admitted that Romero is a "scary guy," said he wanted to show the 49-year-old that he was "not scared."

"I just wasn't moving," Till said. "I just wanted to show him that I'm here to fight. I'm not scared of him. Finally, after all the years. I just wanted to make sure everyone loved it. Neither one of us was willing to look away, and it ended up lasting four minutes. It was quite tiring after a while, honestly. He's a scary guy."

FIRST FACE OFFS OF FIGHT WEEK! 3 DAYS OUT!#BKFC94 Darren Till vs. Yoel Romero THIS SATURDAY | BUY NOW at https://t.co/tjdEAVllRz 👊🔥 pic.twitter.com/fvanye7Y0n
— Bare Knuckle FC (@bareknucklefc) September 24, 2026

After years of circling each other throughout their careers, the two former UFC middleweights finally meet in the most unpredictable manner. Till believes that only makes the matchup more exciting now that it comes in the "scariest" setting.

"We were never really scheduled to fight in the UFC. Never really got mentioned. When we both left, I never thought I'd see him again. But, you know, sometimes these paths rejoin, and here we are. I think it was seven years ago the last time I actually did say his name and stuff like that. These paths have met up again, and I'm excited we're going to fight in such a scary place. It's bare-knuckle. I'm looking forward to it; I really am."

Add us as a preferred source on Google