Darren Till explains 4-minute faceoff with Yoel Romero, if he actually feared facing him in bare-knuckle

Darren Till is set to face Yoel Romero in a bare-knuckle bout at BKFC 94 on Saturday, marking an unlikely matchup that Till once joked he would avoid at all costs during his UFC career. While Till has long played up Romero as a formidable and frightening opponent in jest, he insists those comments were tongue-in-cheek and that he does not genuinely fear facing the Cuban wrestler.

Romero, despite his advancing age, remains a dangerous proposition in bare-knuckle competition. Till respects the threat but sees the fight as a chance to test himself against elite competition. "Look past his age," Till told MMA Fighting. "I don't think it matters how old Yoel Romero is. It could be the most dangerous fight in bare-knuckle." Till emphasized that genuine fighters should be willing to face anyone, barring perhaps a heavyweight like Francis Ngannou.

The two fighters generated viral intrigue at the BKFC 94 press conference when they engaged in an extended staredown that lasted nearly four minutes, with neither breaking eye contact. Till downplayed the intensity as a matter of competitive will rather than intimidation, noting that Romero was the first to look away and speak. "I'm not going to turn away," Till said. "I'm going to show you exactly what I'm here to do to you as much as you are to do to me."

Should Till prevail with a knockout, he plans to use his post-fight moment to call out fighters across multiple organizations, inviting competitors from ONE Championship, PFL, and MVP to face him. A victory over Romero would move Till to 2-0 in BKFC and, in his view, earn him the leverage to demand marquee matchups moving forward.