Dana White has released Darren Till from UFC.
❌ Fighter removed: Darren Till
— UFC Roster Watch (@UFCRosterWatch) February 28, 2023
In season 17 of The Ultimate Fighter, Jon Jones and Chael Sonnen coached opposite teams before their highly anticipated fight for the light heavyweight title at UFC 159. Recently, Sonnen, a former UFC middleweight and light heavyweight title challenger, confessed that he was using steroids during the fight but still lost to Jones.
In an interview with Ariel Helwani of The MMA Hour, Sonnen was asked if he believed Jones was clean during their title bout. He replied by emphatically saying that he knew Jones was also using performance-enhancing drugs and could easily spot it in Jones’ physique. Sonnen went on to say that despite his own steroid use, Jones was still able to overpower him during the fight, leaving him feeling like a Mack truck versus a Volvo.
Sonnen also revealed that at the time of their fight, drug testing was not as strict as it is now with the introduction of USADA, and it was more like an IQ test, where fighters were given notice of when they would be tested.
“No. Heavens no. Oh, my god. We know our own. I could tell, very easily. It would be the body. It would start with your delts, it would go to your nipples then it would be the upper abs – the three big tells, but yes of course. I had more juice than Tropicana and he pushed me around like a Mack truck versus a Volvo.”
“As soon as we locked up with each other, as he’s pushing me backwards before he comes with his big spinning elbow, I remember thinking, ‘I know your secret, ’cause I got the same one.’ Yes, they tested but back then it was an IQ test, not a drug test, because we didn’t have USADA so they had to tell us when they would come in and test.”
Despite Sonnen’s steroid use, he was unable to win the fight against Jones and was defeated in the first round via TKO.
