Sunday night (May 27) Darren Till (17-0-1 MMA, 5-0-1 UFC) got engaged in a tantalizing bait with Stephen Thompson (14-3-1 MMA, 9-3-1 UFC), to seal a win at his home soil at Echo Arena Liverpool, England. Darren had cut weight, weighing in only 174.5 turning the welterweight bout into a catchweight affair.
How The Fight Unfolded?
The crowd went frenzy with joy the moment The Gorilla entered the ring with his hands raised high above. Thompson shooted a quick leg which the home-player missed. As Till had missed the welterweight limit, he appeared bigger than Wonderboy. Despite the home-player’s infamous aggression, he made calculated moves in the bout. The Briton then proceeded forward, inching towards his American opponent slowly and patiently. 35-year-old Stephen stayed towards the outside, making light movements with his feet.
Soon Thompson’s right leg was sore as Till tried to brutally kick off his American rival. But Wonderboy was not ready to give up as he worked towards keeping the home-player pinned on the canvas. Stephen dashed forward with some killer punches but seemed to care more about his defence and movement.
The second round saw The Gorilla unleash a bit of aggression throwing in a bog left early on. The American artist took lead by advancing a kick. Till held him in a Thai clinch but lacked grip. Then the home player stomped on Stephen’s knee which restricted his movement but he remained agile. Wonderboy starting alternating going distance and coming close until he moved to the side.
American artist threw in another kick; however, Till evaded it quickly, making his effort go futile.
The third round saw the Briton execute more of his fiery moves. But Thompson firmly stopped him from making any impact. Though the home player’s strikes started inflicting some serious pain, Thompson was well-equipped to counter attack them.
Throughout the game Wonderboy’s punches were his best bet against his opponent. But he executed more of them in self-defence rather than to attack his opponent. On the contrary, The Gorilla worked mostly on offence carrying out a deadly string left. However, American artist was not willing to give up. In the closing moments of the round 25-year-old Briton got his eye poked. But he continued on landing lethal punches that made quite some impact.
In the start of fourth round, Till got cheered up by his home crowd, making him push forward with great force. Thompson seized the opportunity landing him a straight right. The two then engaged in a power play with Darren’s breathing getting heavier. However, the audience continued to support The Gorilla as Thompson geared higher with his counter attacks.
Without any clue about who the victor would be, the fight opened into the fifth round. American fighter displayed immense agility in evading strikes and though the backside of his legs seemed worn out, his movement did not falter. They both couldn’t cash on spinning kicks and enjoyed the moment together.
90 minutes before the final call, Till was eager to seal off the deal with a win. Thompson tried taking his rival down; however, it took no time for him to mount back up. The last minute saw the crowd applaud wildly as Till tried to bait Thompson, which he did not lure into ending the fight on feet.
Result – Darren Till by Unanimous Decision 48-47, 49-46 and 49-46.
