It’s official! Darren Till will be taking on Derek Brunson for the Liverpudian’s big return to the Octagon on September 4th. Unfortunately, the UFC’s big British hope won’t be able to ply his trade in front of his home country: the UFC Fight Night that was originally targeted for a London location will instead be held back in Las Vegas at the UFC APEX.
Darren Till hasn’t stepped into the cage since a loss to Robert Whittaker back in July 0f 2020. Since then he’s been scheduled for main event fights against Jack Hermansson and Marvin Vettori but was forced to pull out of both with injuries — first a reported knee injury and then a broken collarbone, which Till confirmed. In both events, Till’s loss was Kevin Holland’s gain: Holland filled in for both headlining fights.
Outside of the cage, Till has been making headlines for posting memes so bad the police have gotten involved.
As for Derek Brunson, his last win was against … Kevin Holland in March! Before that he beat a hyped up Edmen Shahbazyan in convincing fashion, TKOing the young prospect in the third round of their main event fight. Since losing to Israel Adesanya in November of 2018, Brunson has earned himself a four fight win streak.
Always the underestimated fighter, Brunson is once again coming into this fight a slight +115 underdog to Till’s -150 favorite.
As you might expect from a card that was supposed to be the UFC’s return to the UK, there’s a lot of international talent for UFC Fight Night 191 (UFC Vegas number TBA). Also on the card: Alexander Gustafsson vs. Paul Craig, “Meatball” Molly McCann vs. Ji Yeon Kim, Marc Diakiese vs. Rafael Alves, and the debut of Paddy Pimblett vs. Luigi Vendramini.