Till moving up to middleweight for Gastelum clash

Darren Till is making the jump up from welterweight, and his first challenge at 185 lbs will be a big one.

The Englishman will take on No. 4-ranked middleweight Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 244 on Nov. 2 in New York City, the promotion announced Monday. The Madison Square Garden card hasn't been given a main-event bout yet.

Till's move comes after back-to-back losses, the first coming in a title fight against then-champion Tyron Woodley, and the second was to Jorge Masvidal via a second-round knockout.

Prior to that, Till had gone unbeaten over 18 fights, with 17 wins (12 via stoppage) and one draw. However, he has a long history of struggling with cutting weight at 170 lbs.

Meanwhile, Gastelum is coming off a Fight of the Year candidate against Israel Adesanya for the interim middleweight belt. The American pushed Adesanya to his limits in a unanimous-decision loss.