Till dismisses Romero fear ahead of BKFC 94 bare-knuckle main event clash

Darren Till has reframed his long-running jokes about avoiding Yoel Romero, calling their upcoming bare-knuckle clash at BKFC 94 on Saturday potentially “the most dangerous fight in bare-knuckle” — and insisting he was never truly afraid, just honest about the threat Romero poses.

For years during his UFC career, Till entertained fans with tongue-in-cheek comments about doing anything to avoid fighting the Olympic silver medal-winning wrestler. He now says those remarks were never rooted in genuine fear — he simply never expected the matchup to materialise.

“Look past his age,” Till told MMA Fighting. “People like to say how old he is. I don’t think it matters how old Yoel Romero is. He’s big, strong, he doesn’t seem to get hit. He’s still got a bit of a gas tank on him. I think it’s dangerous and this is why I like it. Because as a fighter, you’re meant to test and challenge yourself.”

Till was equally candid about the line between banter and reality. “The tongue and cheek comments from me years ago was just being honest. He’s a scary dude. F*ck that.”

The fight’s announcement was accompanied by a press conference staredown that quickly went viral. With BKFC president David Feldman standing between them, Till and Romero held eye contact for the better part of four minutes without either man backing down.

Till says the extended standoff was less calculated mind game and more a simple refusal to blink first. “I think it just got to that point where no one’s turning away,” he said. “I don’t go off faceoff energy and stuff like that but he broke character first — he was speaking to me and chewing his gum real hard. I was just on my own thing. I’m not going to turn away. I enjoyed it as well. He is a scary guy.”

A win on Saturday would move Till to 2-0 in BKFC and, by his own account, open the door to significant callouts within the promotion. He heads into the main event clear-eyed about the danger Romero still represents, but equally clear that the years of jokes were never the full picture.