Darren Till picked up a unanimous decision win over Stephen Thompson in the UFC Liverpool main event.
The UFC Liverpool main event saw the promotion’s #8 welterweight Darren Till earn a very technical decision over the #1 welterweight Stephen Thompson. This was a rather technical bout, with each man showing tons of respect for the other’s abilities. Till came up with the biggest strike of the fight in the fifth and final round, dropping Thompson with a left hand. Thompson would quickly recover to finish the fight standing right in Till’s face. At the end of the day, it was Till who walked away with the unanimous decision. Who will be next for Till?
**It should be noted that Darren Till missed weight by 3.5 pounds
Main Event:
Darren Till def. Stephen Thompson by unanimous decision (48-47-49-46 x2): Welterweight
Till started off by coming forward as Thompson skirted the perimeter. Not a lot of strikes were landed, with each man fighting cautiously. Till landed a few leg kicks here and there while Thompson sporadically scored with a couple of straights.
The second frame saw a bit more commitment from both fighters. Thompson kept blitzing in behind his straight punches, but Till would clinch up with him to stop his momentum. Till was patient, almost reserved, as he looked for his counter left hand.
Till came out in the third frame with heavier pressure, but wasn’t really able to use it for anything before returning to his usual pressure. Thompson landed a stiff cross that snapped back the head of his opponent, which prompted Till to up his pressure and land a hard cross of his own. An accidental eye poke caused the referee to bring in the doctor to have a look at Till, but the action quickly resumed. Till went after his opponent, chasing him down with his left hand and traded a little with Thompson before the round expired.
The athletes continued with their technical games into the fourth round, exchanging straights mixed in with a bunch of feints. Till closed the distance and held his foe up against the cage for a brief moment, before swinging an elbow. Nothing too significant landed for either man for the remainder of the round.
The chess match continued into the final round, with each man feinting while only throwing a single strike at a time. Till landed a jab followed by a heavy left that dropped Thompson. “Wonderboy” quickly recovered and returned to his feet. Thompson blasted a takedown but the fighters immediately stood back up were face to face as the bell sounded.