Hometown favourite Darren Till took a five-round decision win over Stephen Thompson at UFC Fight Night 130 in Liverpool on Sunday, winning by unanimous decision. Show All three judges gave the win to the 25-year-old welterweight, who scored a knockdown in the final round. It was a close and strategic fight that saw long periods of relative inactivity, and most pundits appeared to hand the edge to Thompson. Till was the aggressor more often, however, and the final round may have played a part. Ariel Helwani gave the fight to Thompson but could live with the final scores: Ariel Helwani @arielhelwani
UFC Fight Night 130 Results Darren Till def. Stephen Thompson via unanimous decision (48-47, 49-46, 49-46) Neil Magny def. Craig White via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 4:32 Arnold Allen def. Mads Burnell via submission (front choke) – Round 3, 2:41 Makwan Amirkhani def. Jason Knight via decision (27-30, 29-28, 29-28) Claudio Henrique da Silva def. Nordine Taleb via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 4:31 Darren Stewart def. Eric Spicely via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 1:47
Hometown Cooking for Till? The Gorilla came into UFC Fight Night 130 with an unbeaten UFC record, but in Wonderboy, he faced his toughest challenge yet. The high-level striker had only lost once in the Octagon in the last five years, and that defeat came against dominant welterweight champion Tyron Woodley. While the two balanced each other out nicely in Liverpool, Thompson's strikes landed a little cleaner, and his ability to counter shone brightly. Till was more active in closing down the Octagon, but a lot of his strikes were glancing blows at best. He did have a big moment in the final round when he scored the knockdown, and the hometown fans made their voices heard every time he did as little as launch a light jab. There were plenty of fans and pundits who feared what the judges would say: Jeremy Botter @jeremybotter While several of the rounds were close, it's difficult to justify a card as one-sided as 49-46 for Till. UFC fighter Alex Chambers couldn't believe it: Alex Chambers @alexchambersmma
Good Guy Magny Picks up Dominant Win Magny barely broke a sweat in his first-round TKO win over White, unleashing a massive knee to his opponent that led to the eventual stoppage. It was a clinical, impressive performance, but the 30-year-old really got people talking with his post-fight comments. There was this fantastic gesture: MMA mania @mmamania He also called out Kamaru Usman, who dominated Demian Maia in Chile earlier this month. Whether he's ready for such a challenge is debatable, but after back-to-back wins over Carlos Condit and now White, he's certainly in line for a bigger fight.
Fans Were the Real Winners of Amirkhani vs. Knight Brawl The fight between Amirkhani and Knight was loaded with expectations, with many fans of the sport expecting an all-out war between the two. Those who tuned in early to watch Sunday's action from Liverpool for this bout were rewarded with a fantastic contest that had a little bit of everything: Brett Okamoto @bokamotoESPN Amirkhani controlled the opening round early before Knight scored two knockdowns, and he opted for a submission attempt rather than finish his visibly shaken opponent with more strikes. The decision would cost him in a big way as the trash-talking Amirkhani won the next two rounds by controlling the action. While one of the judges inexplicably scored the fight 30-27 for Knight, the other two got things right even if there would have been few complaints with a 29-28 score the other way. 8th-ranked Darren Till and number 1 contender Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson squared off today (May 27, 2018) at UFC Fight Night 130 from inside the Echo Arena in Liverpool, England, live and free on Fox Sports 1. Till had missed weight, coming in at 174.5 making this welterweight contest into a catchweight bout. This featured as Till’s big test, Darren Till came out to “Sweet Caroline”, singing along enthusiastically with the crowd. He naturally got a huge roar from the crowd. They touched gloves. Till came out feinting, looking to get Thompson to the cage. Thompson circled, threw up a lead leg kick. Till whiffed on a high kick, feeling out the distance. Thompson sent in a high kick off the arms. Thompson was in a southpaw stance, then switched to orthodox against the southpaw Till. Darren feinted, looked for his left, Thompson parried it away. Till landed a roundhouse kick off the arms, Thompson countered with a short blitz. Thompson blitzed in again, was out before Till could counter. He landed a straight left to the body. Till spun and landed a spinning backfist off Thompson’s guard. Thompson was landing short chopping kicks to Till’s calves. Thompson blitzed in, didn’t quite land. Till feinted forward, didn’t land before the first round was over. Till was throwing up lead leg round kicks and Thompson was returning them at him. Till landed his left for the first time, a glancing shot. Thompson feinted forward and Till showed his uppercut. They clinched briefly, Till landed a body knee. Thompson darted in again, Till blocked. Till was looking for a Thai plumb whenever Thompson darted in. Till looked for lead leg kicks to Thompson’s knee. Thompson went for a high kick, Till leaned back out of the way. Thompson, who had been keeping the bout in open space thus far, looked for a counter to a kick and Till shook his head. He shook his head again when Thompson tried to counter with a head kick. Till stayed stationary for a second, ate a side kick to the body, and Thompson attempted a wheel kick that fell short. Till and Thompson traded side kicks to the lead knee. Till cut off the cage and pressured Thompson. Thompson circled out, they touched gloves. Till blocked a Thompson high kick. Thompson circled away from a Till combination. Till looked for the left, Wonderboy moved away and parried. Thompson threw a front kick to Till’s gut. He had been told to target the body between rounds. Till threw out a jab. Till moved forward behind a jab and Thompson landed a sharp counter right hand. Till cut off the cage and held out his arms, but Thompson was the one who landed a right hand when he stepped in. They exchanged power punches, neither landed cleanly. Thompson countered Till with a blitz into a kick. Till shook his head. Till landed a slapping low kick. Thompson feinted, took his head offline, darted in, and the referee stopped the bout because Thompson had poked Till in the eyes when pushing off after his blitz. Till landed his left and Thompson landed a side kick Till landed the one-two as Thompson moved away, to the delight of the crowd. The championship rounds began with both fighters still having plenty in the tank. Till moved forward and Thompson looked to counter, landing punches in a blitz. He countered a jab with a right straight. Till ate another right, looked for his left. He landed it, threw up a high kick off the arms. Till jabbed, Thompson switched stances. Till looked for his lead hook and Thompson countered. Thompson ducked a left but Till clinched, pushed Thompson to the fence, threw an elbow on the clinch break. Till looked for a spinning backfist that whiffed. He double jabbed and landed, then whiffed on a lead hook. Thompson feinted, kicked Till’s calf. Till got aggressive, threw that one-two as Thompson circled away. Between rounds, Thompson’s dad asked him “what did he hurt you with? Nothing!” They hugged at the start of the final round. Thompson avoided a couple combinations from Till. Till landed a jab moving forward. Till tried a clumsy wheel kick and Thompson grinned and touched his glove. Till got Thompson to the cage but couldn’t capitalize. Thompson ate a jab, backed up, went down! It was his left overhand, thrown over the top of Thompson’s right hand. Thompson got back up, looked for a blitz. Till stalked forward, ate a couple punches from Wonderboy. Till got him to the cage, Thompson shot in and put Till on his back for a split second, Till used an overhook to get back up. They feinted at each other for the remainder of the fight. Darren Till won the bout via unanimous decision, which will surely be a source of controversy, and proceeded to shout something that was very emphatically bleeped by the Fox Sports 1 staff. He says in all his life of striking, he’s never fought a striker like that, and he had to use all parts of his brain to figure it out. It was very hard to figure out what he was saying, as he kept getting bleeped out for swearing. This poll is closed 29% Darren Till 70% Stephen Thompson (423 votes)Official result: Darren Till def. Stephen Thompson via unanimous decision (48-47, 49-46x2) For complete Fight Night 130 results, including play-by-play, click here Get the latest gear
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