Darren Till says MMA reporters are failing the people who watch the sport by dodging the uncomfortable questions. The former UFC title challenger said media members seem afraid of upsetting Dana White and losing their credentials, arguing that journalists are there to press fighters and promoters when answers get uncomfortable.

Till said Ariel Helwani has asked him tough questions over the years and that he has never taken that personally, adding that anyone who cannot handle sharp questions should not be in journalism. He also said White talks often about masculinity and tough men, but then gets upset when someone asks him something he does not like.

White, the UFC CEO, has long been at the center of the relationship between fighters and the press, and Till’s comments land in the middle of that old fault line. The British fighter made clear he still has respect for White and for what he has done for the sport, but said refusing to answer hard questions and brushing them off is not the image of toughness White likes to project.

The criticism comes from a fighter whose career has moved sharply away from the title picture that once defined him. By age 25, Till was unbeaten and had a shot at the welterweight title, but Tyron Woodley submitted him at UFC 228 and he has managed just one MMA win since, a split decision over Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 244 in late 2019. That has left him chasing paydays in Misfits Boxing, where he has beaten Anthony Taylor, Darren Stewart and former UFC champion Luke Rockhold, before now moving into bareknuckle fighting.

Till, now 33, is scheduled to face Aaron Chalmers, a former British reality star, at BKFC 90 on May 30. His remarks about the media fit a broader dispute inside MMA over access, with some reporters accused of softening their questions to avoid losing passes and others arguing that hard questions are exactly what the job requires. For Till, the line is simple: if a fighter or promoter cannot take the heat, the sport has the wrong people speaking for it.