Darren Till edged a decision victory over top ranked welterweight Stephen Thompson in front of a barmy crowd at the Echo Arena in Liverpool.
An electric atmosphere with Darren Till’s name being chanted in every corner of the Echo Arena. Till looked to control the range, pressuring Thompson against the cage on the back foot. Wonderboy continued to switch stances, repeatedly shifting back-and-forth. A pretty cagey first round with both men looking to figure the other out.
The second round started with a sense of urgency from Till, and both men remained hesitant to commit to any serious offense. The Liverpudlian looked to target Wonderboy’s legs with kicks, with the American acknowledging them with a nod. The chess match continued…
As the crowd continued to urge Darren Till on, Thompson’s strategy appeared to be to take the Liverpudlian into the latter rounds. With Till’s weight cut chaos being touted to affect his cardio, the fourth round began with the Englishman asking the crowd to up their levels. Till engaged in the clinch and looked to land an elbow on exit, with Thompson departing unscathed. The fight headed into the fifth and final round.
After the fight retained it’s awkward, cagey affair in the fifth round. Till suddenly dropped Thompson, attempting to swarm his opponent. The American returned to his feet, with the fight heading to the scorecards.
The judges scored the fight unanimously in favour of Darren Till, with the Liverpool crowd ecstatic. Who’s next for Till?
Neil Magny stopped Craig White just before the conclusion of the first round, dropping the short-notice replacement with a knee and landing repeated strikes forcing the referee to step in.
White had taken the fight on just twelve days notice, stepping up to make his octagon debut against the #9 ranked welterweight in the UFC.
A remarkable submission from Arnold Allen snatched victory away from an otherwise impressive performance by Denmark’s Mads Burnell.
Burnell outwrestled the Englishman for the opening two rounds, with Allen having no answer to repeated takedowns and dominant top game. As the clock ticked in the final round, Allen managed to sink in a front choke, out of nowhere to seal an unlikely victory!
Jason Knight and Makwan Amirkhani delivered an epic first round, with Knight dropping Amirkhani twice in a back-and-forth five minutes. The Liverpool crowd took to their feet to applaud the two featherweights at the conclusion of the opening round.
The second round was a little more conservative, with Amirkhani managing to gain some control time in the final moments. The third round saw “Mr Finland” look to continue to wrestle his way to victory, with the fight fizzling to a rather disappointing end. Amirkhani took the nod on the judges’ scorecards.
Claudio Silva returned to the octagon for the first time since 2014, with a first round submission victory over Frenchman Nordine Taleb to show for his lay off. Whilst Taleb started well, a failed attempt at a leg lock left Silva in a dominant position, eventually transitioning to sink in a rear-naked choke with the first round nearing to an end.
Opening the main card, Darren Stewart earned the first win of his UFC career at the fifth attempt, stopping Eric Spicely in the second round. Stewart had the best of the exchanges in the first round, but remained wary of his opponent’s ground game. In the second round, the Englishman began to follow up on his strikes, landing combinations at will.
With just over ninety seconds gone, Stewart dropped his American opponent with a stiff jab, before following it up with some brutal ground and pound, forcing the referee to intervene. It’s a huge win for Darren, who will hope this sparks an upturn in results for the Londoner.
Earlier on the prelims, Liverpool’s own Molly McCann suffered heartbreak on her octagon bow, succumbing to a rear-naked choke against Canada’s Gillian Robertson.
A difficult first round ensued for McCann, with Robertson dominating the fight on the ground. The Canadian threatened with both strikes and submissions, looking for an armbar and a rear-naked choke on separate occasions. McCann managed to see the round out and head into the second.
After a brief standing exchange, Robertson took the fight to the ground again with a beautiful trip. The twenty-three-year-old then continued to threaten on the ground before sinking in a rear-naked choke, with McCann refusing to tap and eventually going out cold.
Full Results
Darren Till def. Stephen Thompson via unanimous decision (48-47, 49-46, 49-46).
Neil Magny def. Craig White via TKO (strikes) after 4:32 of Round 1.
Arnold Allen def. Mads Burnell via submission (front choke) after 2:41 of Round 3.
Makwan Amirkhani def. Jason Knight via split decision (27-30, 29-28, 29-28).
Claudio Silva def. Nordine Taleb via submission (rear-naked choke) after 4:31 of Round 1.
Darren Stewart def. Eric Spicely via TKO (strikes) after 1:47 of Round 2.
Tom Breese def. Dan Kelly via TKO (strikes) after 3:33 of Round 1.
Lina Lansberg def. Gina Mazany via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28).
Carlo Pedersoli def. Brad Scott via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28).
Gillian Robertson def. Molly McCann via technical submission (rear-naked choke) after 2:05 of Round 2.
Elias Theodorou def. Trevor Smith via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28).
