Derek Brunson (+155) VS Darren Till (-180)
This is an important fight on a few different levels. Derek Brunson (22-7-0) is on a roll right now in the middleweight division since losing to champion Israel Adesanya at UFC 230 by TKO in the 1st round back in 2018. Since then he has rattled off 4 straight wins and is looking to get back in the title picture instead of being looked at as a “stepping stone” to the title picture.
Brunson is a wrestler and is not afraid to take it to the ground and keep you there for a decision win. 3 of his last 4 wins have all come from decision and that’s the knock on Brunson from alot of MMA fans, that he is not an exciting fighter and he isn’t much of a draw. But he is a very good fighter who keeps beating who the UFC throws in front of him.
UFC match makers keep putting guys in front of Brunson as a test to see if they could be ready for a shot at the title and if Derrick Brunson keeps winning they will have no other choice but to give Brunson his re-match with the champ.
Darren “The Gorilla” Till (18-3-1) came into the UFC with alot of steam behind him, an undefeated record and quickley became a fan favorite in the UFC. He started off hot with a 4-0-1 start and alot of people had him pegged as a future champion in this middleweight division. But after getting choked out by Tyron Woodley in the 2nd round in his 1st chance at the title he was claiming that he just made a mistake and got caught. That he is still championship material.
So the UFC match makers put him against UFC veteran and re-emerging star Jorge “Gamebred” Masvidal in England in front of his hometown fans and got KO’d in the 2nd round. He has since gone 1-1 losing to #1 contender Robert Whittaker and is looking to rebound from his 1-3 skid after being 17-0-1.
The thing is about Till is he is an excellent fighter who happened to lose 3 fights recently to 3 very skilled fighters. That doesn’t take away from any of the Darren’s skills and the fact that he is still 1 big win away from a possible title shot.
If Adesanya gets by Whittaker in their title re-match and Till wins this weekend against Brunson, who else is left for the champ to fight if not Till? He has beaten almost the rest of the top 10 already and Adesanya has openly talked about a possible fight with Till.
“The Gorilla” just needs to step up in the big moments. And this Saturday afternoon (event starts 4pm/ET) is THE big moment where Till needs to step up and make a statement. Brunson is a very strong wrestler that has the skill to take Till to the ground and keep him in that position and land hammer fists to win this fight. But Till has great take down defense and is an excellent counter puncher. Brunson is not known for his chin and in his last fight against Kevin Holland he dominated the majority of the fight, but when Holland landed a shot it wobbled Brunson and he looked shook. Brunson is not gonna take down Till 100 times like he did Holland and this fight will be on the fight alot longer giving TIll a lot of chances to end this one.
Prediction: Till by TKO