UFC: Darren Till vs Derek Brunson LIVE – Latest updates and result from Fight Night in Las Vegas
Follow all the action live from the UFC Apex institute in Las Vegas
Darren Till’s struggles for momentum in the UFC show no signs of subsiding, as the Liverpudlian was submitted by Derek Brunson in the third round of their Fight Night main event on Saturday night.
Till (18-4-1) saw his welterweight run end with back-to-back defeats in 2018, prompting a move up to middleweight in an attempt to kickstart his UFC career and avoid the weight-cutting issues that had been plaguing him.
A narrow decision win over Kelvin Gastelum in his debut at 185lbs was followed by a points loss to former divisional champion Robert Whittaker last summer, with Saturday’s submission defeat by Brunson meaning Till has just one victory from his last five bouts.
The 28-year-old striker looked sharp as ever on the feet, but his American opponent predictably pursued takedowns, which he secured in all three of the five rounds that a small group of fans got to witness in the UFC’s Apex facility in Las Vegas.
Brunson, 37, controlled Till on the mat for the majority of the first two rounds, landing heavy strikes from above, including slicing elbows. His takedown in the third round almost came out of desperation, however, after he appeared to be stunned by Till’s punches, which followed effective knees to the body.
In any case, Brunson’s instinctive takedown somehow gave way to the American quickly slipping into mount position, before he took Till’s back and locked in a rear naked choke. Till promptly tapped out to the hold, as Brunson (23-7) earned a fifth straight win in his last push for a middleweight title shot.
The 37-year-old was knocked out by current champion Israel Adesanya in 2018, as ‘The Last Stylebender’ stormed towards middleweight gold.
Re-live all the action from UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs Till below.
UFC: Till vs Brunson
Next up, Liverpool’s ‘Meatball’ Molly McCann takes on Ji Yeon Kim in a women’s flyweight bout.
UFC: Till vs Brunson
It’s a unanimous decision victory for Jack Shore against Liudvik Sholinian!
30-27, 30-27, 30-27 on the judges’ scorecards. Total dominance from the Welsh bantamweight.
Shore remains undefeated as he improves his record to 15-0 (4-0 in the UFC).
He reveals he tore his bicep tendon two weeks ago and was “just happy to get through” the fight.
UFC: Till vs Brunson
Undefeated Welshman Jack Shore has just gone the distance with Liudvik Sholinian.
We’ll have the judges’ scorecards shortly...
UFC: Till vs Brunson
The second prelim fight of the night:
Julian Erosa def. Charles Jourdain via third-round submission (D’Arce choke, 2:56)
UFC: Till vs Brunson
The preliminary card just got under way!
The first result of the night: Marc-Andre Barriault def. Dalcha Lungiambula via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27).
We’ll be providing results from the first few prelim bouts, with comprehensive updates to follow when the main card begins at 9pm BST.
UFC: Till vs Brunson
Exclusive interview with Darren Till (4/4):
•On how he views his path to a middleweight title shot, with Robert Whittaker, Jared Cannonier and Paulo Costa all in the hunt:
“I’m prepared, after this fight, to wait for the winner of Whittaker vs Adesanya – if that’s the fight the UFC makes – but I’m prepared also to fight either the winner of [Marvin] Vettori vs Costa, or Cannonier.
“I’m the same as Cannonier, I need money, so let’s fight straight away.
“Let’s go, the next few months. I want to keep my foot on the pedal and build myself right to the top of the top at middleweight. If I didn’t want to do that, I wouldn’t be on the phone to you – I’d go and do something else.”
UFC: Till vs Brunson
Exclusive interview with Darren Till (3/4):
•On whether tonight’s fight with Brunson offers a greater chance to show off his wrestling skills than his most recent bouts:
“100 per cent. I know Derek’s coming in there to mix takedowns with striking.
“He does a lot of chain wrestling well, he sort of goes from the legs to the body. The cage is small [at the UFC Apex facility] as well, so it’ll just be a chance for me to showcase why I spent four years in Brazil and why my wrestling and grappling is so good.
“Not many people can take me down and hold me down. It’ll be interesting to see if he can hold me on the ground.”
UFC: Till vs Brunson
Exclusive interview with Darren Till (2/4):
•On whether he could analyse his last result – a points loss to Robert Whittaker – more from a mixed martial artist’s perspective, due to the lack of weight issues:
“100 per cent, I’m not fighting anything now but fights. I’m in fight week and so relaxed.
“Losses like that against Whittaker, there are small things you can take away. Okay, in the fifth round he wanted it more, he wanted to get the takedown and edge it on the slight points advantage. He was a little bit more aggressive and hard-working than me, but that’s all to do with growth and learning.
“We all obviously have our problems outside the ring, but as soon as I enter the gym, I’m there with a purpose, I’m there to be a great martial artist and to win fights in the UFC.
“There’s no distractions now. It’s just pure martial artistry.”
UFC: Till vs Brunson
Exclusive interview with Darren Till (1/4)
The Independent held an exclusive interview with Till this week. Here’s what the Liverpudlian had to say on a range of topics...
•On whether his unsuccessful welterweight title shot against Tyron Woodley, before moving up to middleweight, came too soon:
“No, I think at that point I was essentially fighting the scales, I wasn’t fighting my opponents. I was fighting against myself. It got to the point where I was just in a weight category that didn’t fit me no more. I’d started lifting weights and doing strength and conditioning, I was a small boy who grew out into a bigger man.
“When I look back at it, Woodley caught me with one great shot – props to him, but he’s not the better fighter and neither is Jorge Masvidal. The guys I’ve lost to have been better than me on the night, but I don’t see them better than me in any way, shape or form.
“At the time, I was fighting something else, rather than the fights. That’s not taking anything away from my opponent – he beat me fair and square... Maybe one or two more fights before the title would’ve done me good, we could’ve seen how the weight went, but a lot of it happened for a reason.
“I’m in a great spot now. I’m in a division I feel comfortable in.”
UFC: Till vs Brunson
Here’s all the information you need on how to watch tonight’s event, as well as all of the timings:
Darren Till vs Derek Brunson live stream: How to watch UFC fight online and on TV
The Liverpudlian headlines a card that sees a number of Britons in action
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