From his geographical roots and his fighting style to his gift of gab, it's easy to dismiss UFC welterweight Darren Till as just another Conor McGregor clone that UFC is banking on to be its next star-in-waiting. But the hard-punching native of Liverpool, England, will get his biggest opportunity to date on Saturday at UFC 228 in Dallas to prove to casual fans exactly who he is and to the hardcore ones whether his game is truly elite when he challenges welterweight champion Tyron Woodley (18-3-1) in the main event. 

Although the 25-year-old Till (17-0-1) is unbeaten in six fights since his debut in 2015, it doesn't take a detective to figure out how much his potential marketability aided in lifting him to a title shot that candidly he may not fully deserve as of this point. Yet Till, who has had weight issues in the past and has been exceedingly ornery in recent interviews during his cut to 170 pounds, has made it clear he's no second-rate anyone -- whether that be McGregor or fellow countryman Michael Bisping. 

"I don't ever want to be inspired by someone else," Till told reporters during last week's media day in Las Vegas. "I want to be inspired by myself."

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While the comparisons to brash Irish star McGregor seemed inevitable for Till upon his brutal knockout of veteran Donald Cerrone in a fight that ultimately announced him, it's far from a perfect match. 

Sure, both are good-looking, southpaw sluggers with big tattoos and a heavily accented voice, fueled by an intense lathering of confidence and determination. Both have also shown a willingness to take on any challenge at anytime. But Till is far less jovial or grandeur in terms of his charisma, and far less calculated as a businessman. In whatever he lacks compared to McGregor in terms of theatrical wit, he more than makes up for with intensity. 

"Listen, what you see is what you get with me. It's 100 percent," Till said. "You don't get no scripted shit. Sometimes I might say controversial stuff, but it's all Darren Till and that's the truth. I just want to beat everyone and have everyone in all divisions sit back and say I was the f---ing best and the greatest and I beat everyone. 

"I'm not scared of anyone. I don't care whether you are a jiu-jitsu fighter or a wrestler or a stand-up fighter, I want to put myself against you and I want to see who is better. And if you are the guy that is going to beat me, I'm going to take that loss like a man and go back and I'll work on me self. That's how I look at fighting. I don't look at it as going in and fighting this guy and that guy and making money. F--- that, I'm not here for that."

MMA: UFC Fight Night-Liverpool: Thompson vs Till
Till wants to show fans he's not a Conor McGregor knockoff.  USATSI

Till's leapfrogging of the welterweight rankings in order to become the 36-year-old Woodley's fourth title defense wasn't without controversy. After missing weight by a hearty four pounds against Stephen Thompson in May, Till's controversial decision win in Liverpool was deemed a homecoming. To make matters worse, UFC chose to elevate Till and simultaneously strip Colby Covington after the interim champion -- who defeated Rafael dos Anjos at UFC 225 to earn the interim title -- revealed he needed an extra month to prepare for Woodley.

Because of his history, which also includes having missed weight ahead of his win over Jessin Ayari last year, the topic of weight cutting has followed Till around since the fight was announced. Taking no chances, Till has flown his entire team to Las Vegas in order to train the final weeks leading up to UFC 228 at the UFC Performance Institute, and claims to be ahead of pace to making the cut. 

Still, that doesn't mean he prefers talking about it. 

"It's shit, it's f---ing shit. I hate cutting weight, I hate making weight, I hate dieting," Till said. "I'm going to make this weight, so I can't wait to do that when I step on them scales. I'm in that moment now where I don't want to train anymore, I don't want to eat good anymore. I wish I had a hamburger in front of me right now. But it's all sacrifices, and I made a mistake last time. I just can't wait to say f--- you to everyone who just keeps bobbling on about weight. 'He didn't make weight. F--- him.' 

"F--- them."

As an insurance policy, UFC has installed welterweight contender Kamaru Usman (13-1) to weigh in along with Woodley and Till, serving as a backup plan in case Till misses weight. Woodley has gone on record saying he's prepared to fight Till regardless of weight and the champ refuses to fight Usman in any form. Either way, Till would prefer just getting to Saturday and leaving the talk behind.

"To be honest, I don't really care," Till said. "I feel like I'm the only fighter who has ever missed weight in UFC, to be honest. Anyone when we talk about weight now it's Darren Till, Darren Till. I missed weight and people just need to get off it. 

"I'm just focused on Friday, making 170, and then Saturday going in and absolutely f---ing destroying Tyron Woodley. That's all I'm focusing on right now. I'm not focusing on what he said or she said online or what f---ing Billy Joe says. I don't care."

UFC Fight Night Weigh-in
Tired of weight issues, Till's days at welterweight could be ending soon.  Getty

Huge for the division, Till said he plans on only two or three more fights maximum at welterweight, revealing, "I'm not putting my body through this much longer, I just want to be able to eat some white rice. I'm just f---ing hungry." From there, he plans to slowly move up to 185 pounds and "earn his stripes" instead of chasing a money fight or demanding a title shot upon entry. 

Till's patience, in that regard, is part of what he believes makes him different and separates him from other UFC fighters who are in the game for things like money and celebrity. 

"As soon as I started to train MMA [for the first time], that was it," Till said. "I was obsessed with the sport and just wanted to be the best. I said to everyone in the gym that I'm going to be better than everyone in the world. Some may not have believed it, some may have, but that's just the mentality that I had."

Not much has changed for Till in terms of his ambition in the eight years since he first entered the Team Kaobon gym in Liverpool and instantly threw himself into sparring against the likes of UFC fighters Terry Etim, Paul Kelly and Paul Sass and, in his words, was taken down and submitted on a daily basis. 

"I just used to think, 'One day I'm going to get every single one of you back. I'm going to destroy all of you. I'm going to be the king of the gym and I'm going to be the king of the world,'" Till said. "I just knew that everyday keep taking all of them punishments and getting beat up and keep getting set back to just keep moving forward."

Till will carry that same mindset with him into the Octagon on Saturday in his first title shot against Woodley. 

"I always want to be different, I always want to be that special guy," Till said. "We have never had that UFC star from Liverpool. It's like the weight of Liverpool is resting on my shoulders. I just want to be different and be that different guy from the crowd.

"I just believe totally that I'm better than everyone at this. It's not fake or anything, it's 100 percent of what I believe."