UFC Fight Night: London – Darren Till desperate to bounce back against Jorge Masvidal

Fight fans love the term ‘hype train’ and Till risks being derailed if he suffers a second consecutive loss

Alex Pattle
Friday 15 March 2019 13:56 EDT
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Darren Till says he wants to 'viciously knock out' Jorge Masvidal ahead of UFC London fight

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Liverpool’s Darren Till headlines UFC Fight Night: London on Saturday, as the world’s largest MMA promotion makes its annual trip to the O2 Arena.

The card’s main event sees ‘The Gorilla’ Till (17-1-1, 10 KOs) taking on Jorge Masvidal (32-13, 13 KOs), and the stakes are high for the 26-year-old Liverpudlian.

Till is looking to bounce back from a crushing defeat in his last fight, in which he was comprehensively beaten by Tyron Woodley while competing for the UFC welterweight title.

Fight fans love the term ‘hype train’ and Till risks being derailed if he suffers a second consecutive loss. That may sound strange considering that the No 3 welterweight’s defeat to Woodley was his first ever in MMA, but it was the manner of the loss in September that increases the importance of this outing against Masvidal.

In his fight against Woodley, Till failed to land a single significant strike before submitting to a choke in the second round.

"It was a big fight, a big scale, I lost and had to deal with that myself," Till said this month. "I don't think I'll ever fully get over it – it hurts and it's like a thorn inside of me that I'll have to take out some day.”

Even in his previous fight – a contest against top welterweight contender Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson – Till was not at his relentless best. What should have been a thrilling affair ended up as a remarkably tepid encounter.

‘The Gorilla’ won a controversial unanimous decision over the American in Liverpool, with some observers suggesting that the home crowd’s roars might have affected the judges’ interpretation of the fight.

While Saturday’s Fight Night is not in Till’s hometown, he could again benefit from the backing of the British fans; the London crowd will likely light up each time he strikes, no matter how accurately or effectively.

After the Liverpudlian’s loss to Woodley, Till’s camp expected that he would move up to middleweight, as he has had serious trouble cutting weight to 170lbs in the past. So, it was somewhat surprising to see Till paired against Masvidal.

‘Gamebred’ has gone two fights and two years without a win in the UFC, and the 34-year-old No 11 welterweight is much later in his career than Till. A victory over ‘The Gorilla’ would catapult Masvidal up the rankings, however, potentially positioning him within one or two wins of a title shot – something he has never achieved in the UFC.

There is practically nothing to separate the two men in terms of height and reach, but as a former lightweight, Masvidal will naturally be the smaller man in the octagon.

Southpaw Till is known as a knockout artist who pressures his opponents using his Muay Thai proficiency, while Masvidal has impressive kickboxing skills and will likely be happy to stand and trade with the Liverpudlian.

This is what Till will be hoping for, but ‘Gamebred’ also has a wrestling background and – although he rarely utilises it – he may look to take the fight to the ground, where Till is less comfortable and was defeated by Woodley.

Speaking about his veteran opponent, Till said: “There is no name calling, no disrespect, just two guys who want to fight, who want to beat each other up.

“But I won’t be satisfied with this fight if it makes it beyond the first round.”

A win could see Till re-enter the conversation for a 170lb title shot, as Woodley lost the belt to Nigeria’s Kamaru Usman this month at UFC 235, meaning there is a new opponent for ‘The Gorilla’ to chase through the welterweight jungle.

However, undefeated UFC newcomer Ben Askren will be in attendance on Saturday, and the former Olympic wrestler has been exchanging unpleasantries with Till on social media in recent weeks. If Till wins, it would not be a surprise to see him call out Askren.

In any case, Till is looking to show that he has not been mentally shaken by his defeat to Woodley, declaring this month: “I just want to be the hardest person alive, I want to be feared.”

Victory on Saturday would ensure that the Darren Till ‘hype train’ keeps rolling, and it may even carry the Liverpool FC fan closer to his dream of headlining a UFC event at Anfield.

In the night’s co-main event, Birmingham’s Leon Edwards comes up against Gunnar Nelson in another welterweight contest.

Tenth-ranked Edwards (16-3, 6 KOs) is on a six-fight win streak, and was clamouring to face Till in Saturday’s main event before Masvidal joined the card.

The 27-year-old Brit is the slight favourite over his Icelandic opponent, but No 13 welterweight Nelson (17-3-1, 3 KOs) is a dangerous foe, with 13 submission wins to his name.

Edwards is planning a vicious victory, however, to disrupt Till and Masvidal’s future plans. Speaking in London in January, Edwards said: “I feel I have to go out there and finish Gunnar Nelson to stake my claim and get the winner of the main event.”

UFC Fight Night: London will air on BT Sport 2 on Saturday March 16th. The prelims begin at 5.30 pm and the main card starts at 9 pm

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