Darren Till was a slight underdog when he faced Donald Cerrone in the main event of UFC Fight Night 118 in October 2017. The odds were understandable. Cerrone was a veteran of 35 fights with the WEC/UFC and had faced some of the best fighters in the lightweight and welterweight divisions. Till, on the other hand, had only four previous UFC fights and none of those scraps had come against an opponent as accomplished as Cerrone.
Till, one of the largest fighters in the welterweight division, did an excellent job of using his length to his advantage. It was that size that allowed him to stagger Cerrone with a one-two with one minute left in the first stanza. Seeing that he had Cerrone on skates, Till calmly closed the distance and unloaded strikes on Cerrone against the cage. Referee Marc Goddard brought the fight to a stop shortly after Cerrone turned away from Till and dropped to the mat and covered his head. The official time of the stoppage came at the 4:20 mark of the first round.
The “Performance of the Night” bonus winning TKO over Cerrone launched Till from prospect to contender. After his victory over Stephen Thompson at UFC Fight Night 130, Till went from contender to title challenger, as that victory earned him a welterweight title shot against champion Tyron Woodley. Till faces Woodley on Saturday in the main event of UFC 228.
UFC 228 takes place on Sept. 8 from American Airlines Arena in Dallas, Texas.
Before Till fights for the welterweight crown, watch his knockout win over Cerrone
