The Road to Tyron Woodley vs. Darren Till

Three months ago, the UFC split Tyron Woodley’s belt in half. It was an odd decision to say the least, made even odder by the fact that the UFC plans make Woodley’s belt whole again on Saturday.

It has been two years since Tyron Woodley blasted Robbie Lawler with an overhand right to capture the UFC welterweight championship. He followed that with an active year by the standard of modern UFC champions.

In November 2016, Woodley defended the belt against top contender Wonderboy Thompson. Woodley dominated the first round, in which he kept Thompson’s back on the mat, and the fourth round, in which he nearly stopped Thompson first by strikes and later by submission. Only the heart of a champion saved Thompson, and allowed him to take the fifth round, which secured a majority draw.

They ran the fight back the following March. Woodley and Thompson kept it just as close, but with far less noteworthy action. With the way the fight went, either would have been fortunate to escape with the championship. Woodley was the fortunate one.

Four months later, Woodley shut out Demian Maia. That was a feat every bit as impressive as it was boring, with Maia’s takedowns ineffective and his striking timid, and Woodley too cautious to open up his striking to a fan-pleasing point. Afterward, UFC president Dana White derided the fight, Woodley’s performance, and promoted the fact that Woodley and Maia had combined for the fewest punches thrown in a five-round UFC title fight.
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Considering that, perhaps it wasn’t so odd that the UFC declared June’s fight between top contenders Colby Covington and Rafael dos Anjos was for the interim welterweight championship. Woodley had been sidelined with an injury, and although he would be ready soon, the UFC was evidently ready to move on to a new champion. From the UFC’s perspective, they could help their UFC 225 pay-per-view card (which was already set with a middleweight title headliner) and give more attention to Woodley’s eventual challenger.

Colby Covington won the fight, and the build to Woodley vs. Covington began. But his reign would be short-lived. Covington suited the UFC’s needs for one night, but now they had another pay-per-view thirteen weeks away that needed a main event. When it was clear Covington couldn’t make the September 8 date that the UFC needed to fill, they cleared the blockage so the wheel could keep turning.

Six weeks after Covington won the interim title, the UFC announced Tyron Woodley would defend his title against Darren Till on September 8. The UFC plans to strip Covington as soon Woodley vs. Till begins.

Through three title defenses, Tyron Woodley has not been the champion of the UFC’s dreams. Both of his 2017 title fights were among the worst bouts of that year. He does well as an analyst at the Fox desk, but isn’t much of a trash talker (although a different side of him began to emerge when it looked like Covington would be his next opponent). To this point, he hasn’t shown much pull at the box office.

Comparatively, Till appears to be the kind of fighter the UFC would like to promote as its champion.

Still with room to grow at only 25-years-old, Till is unbeaten through eighteen professional fights (seventeen victories and one draw). Although he’s scored just two stoppages in six UFC bouts, Till has a reputation as something of a knockout artist. Certainly, his stoppage victory over Donald Cerrone—in the first UFC main event of Till’s career—has left an impression.

Till earned his title match by edging out a decision over Woderboy Thompson in May in front his home crowd in Liverpool, England. Most scored the close fight in Thompson’s favor, but two judges scored four rounds for Till. For one judge, it was tied heading into the fifth, in which Till’s knockdown swung the round in his favor. Although controversial, the bout proved Till could hang with the division’s best, and he came across as a superstar in front of the Liverpool crowd.

In Till, the UFC could have its next English superstar, and perhaps one that can reach greater heights than Michael Bisping did. He claims he doesn’t care about money, which can only work to the UFC’s benefit, and his fighting style is one the promotion traditionally prefers.

Of course, Till has a tall order ahead of him in Woodley. Although Woodley hasn’t fought in more than a year and will be the smaller fighter, Till has never faced a wrestler, much less one the caliber of Woodley. The betting odds on the bout are near even, but if Till can’t pass the wrestler test, it may not be very competitive.

Most likely, the UFC wouldn’t mind things being freshened up in the welterweight title picture, but Woodley may be too good to let that happen. However, if Till can get the job done, the UFC may have found its next bankable star.

Dan Plunkett has covered MMA for 411Mania since 2008. You can reach him by email at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @Dan_Plunkett.