UFC Liverpool a Huge Chance For Till, Wonderboy Still in Limbo

5/24/2018

After hosting many events in England since 2002, the UFC will make its first trip to Liverpool on

Sunday. The main event will feature a dynamic welterweight fight that could determine a future

title challenger, as No. 1 ranked Stephen Thompson will take on Liverpool’s own No. 8 Darren

Till.

Thompson has challenged champion Tyron Woodley for the welterweight title twice, and both

fights ended different ways. In the first fight, Thompson was as close as a fighter can get to

being finished, but somehow weathered Woodley’s storm. He made the fight’s impending

decision a bit interesting in the fifth round, but the clash resulted in a draw with Woodley

retaining his title.

Their second fight was a chess match and far from a fan-favorite, even though Woodley

dropped Thompson in the final minute of the bout. But that moment was virtually the only

significant action in the fight and Woodley retained once again.

Thompson’s unpredictable striking style, matched with Woodley’s defense and power, made for

a tactical and careful exchange that wasn’t pleasing to the casual fan, which will make it

challenging to sell a trilogy match between the two. However, if Thompson defeats a heavily-

hyped prospect like Till, it’ll be difficult to deny him another title shot.

Thompson reeled off seven straight wins on his way to the title shots, defeating fighters such as

Rory MacDonald, Johny Hendricks and Robert Whitaker. He most recently dominated Jorge

Masvidal to a unanimous decision victory in November at UFC 217.

Even with a dominant victory over Till, Thompson will likely have to wait his turn for another title

shot, as Rafael Dos Anjos and Colby Covington will fight for the interim title at UFC 225 in June

with the winner likely challenging Woodley next. The best thing Thompson can hope for is that

one of those fighters defeat Woodley, because as long as Woodley is champ, he could be in a

constant state of waiting.

Till is 4-0-1 in the UFC and most recently defeated Donald Cerrone by first-round TKO in

October. The 25-year-old Till entered that fight as a relative unknown, but after the win over the

fan favorite, he emerged as one the most talked about prospects in the welterweight division.

Till wanted the fight with Thompson, and after months of speculation was finally granted his

wish.

Thompson will be a new challenge for Till, but if Till can find a way to figure out his style and win

in dominant fashion like he did over Cerrone, the hype train could take him straight to the front

of the line for a title shot.

The rest of the main card

Welterweight fight - No. 9 Neil Magny vs. Craig White

Featherweight fight - Arnold Allen vs. Mads Burnell

Featherweight fight - Jason Knight vs. Makwan Amirkhani

Bantamweight fight - Davey Grant vs. Manny Bermudez

Middleweight fight - Eric Spicely vs. Darren Stewart

FS1 Prelims

Welterweight fight - Claudio Silva vs. Nordine Taleb

Middleweight fight - Daniel Kelly vs. Tom Breese

Welterweight fight - Bradley Scott vs. Carlo Pedersoli

Flyweight fight - Gillian Robertson vs. Molly McCann

UFC Fight Pass Early Prelims

Middleweight fight - No. 15 Elias Theodorou vs. Trevor Smith

Bantamweight fight - No. 14 Lina Lansberg vs. No. 15 Gina Mazany