Darren Till

Robert Whittaker vs. Darren Till

Round 1
At long last, we have reached the main event, in the form of a middleweight contender matchup between ex-champ Whittaker (20-5, 11-3 UFC) and former welterweight title challenger Till (18-2-1, 6-2-1 UFC). To keep things clean, referee Herb Dean keeps tabs on the headliner, and even though they talked about “going to war,” there is a touch of gloves. Till leaps forward, and Whittaker stops him in his tracks with a power jab. Till walks it off and wades forward, only to get jabbed again. Whittaker times Till’s advancing movement with an overhand left, and Till stops his movement and takes a leg kick. Whittaker throws out a lazy front kick that Till catches with one hand, and “The Gorilla” tosses it aside. They crash together and Till nails him with a short elbow. Whittaker could be hurt, and he falls to his back in a shock. Till pounces to land some punches, and the former champ fights his way back to his feet without taking much damage. Till crowds him, and Whittaker backs away and absorbs a few long left hands while blocking a head kick. Till crashes in to squeeze “The Reaper” against the cage, and Whittaker tries to circle out and sneak in a knee. Whittaker tries to toss him, and Till stays upright, backs away and stings the former champ with a left. Whittaker comes back at him with a head kick that gets blocked, so he goes low with a kick and checks one that comes back towards him. Whittaker sticks him with a long right jab and wings a head kick that Till dodges, and follows this with another left. Till races forward, and Whittaker blocks and lands a left hand counter to make Till retreat. Whittaker aims a low kick at the calf, and Till stands still to wipe some sweat off his brow. Whittaker loads up with a bomb of a right hand, and Till backs away but does not get far enough back to avoid the straight right that comes after. Whittaker slaps the lead leg with one kick before we hear the horn to end the round.

Sherdog Scores
Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Till
Ben Duffy scores the round: 10-9 Till
Tristen Critchfield scores the round: 10-9 Till

Round 2
They clap hands to start the round, and Till appears to loudly cough. They start engaging, and Till walks forward a little too recklessly and gets clipped with a left hand that almost makes him topple over. Till tries to land a right hand, but Whittaker counters with a left over the top. Till puts on him a pair of leg kicks, and Whittaker charges in with a right hand that drops Till to the ground hard. “Bobby Knuckles” chases him down into guard, where he starts to grind his elbow on Till’s face. Whittaker softens up the body and elbows the thigh to break the guard, but his most emphatic strike on top comes in the form of a big elbow. Whittaker steps over to half guard with one more that makes Till’s head bounce off the canvas. Whittaker sneaks a right hand around the guard, and wings a trio of short elbows that make Till check to see if he has been cut – there is blood dripping from his nose. Till rolls over and gives up his back, and Whittaker takes it but cannot secure it, so Till pushes off. Whittaker lands a low kick that does not slap as much as it thuds, and he circles away to evade Till’s strikes while sinking in another leg kick. Till cannot get in on him, and takes another leg kick as he starts to show signs of frustration. Till rushes forward but does not land, and Whittaker comes at him with a blitz only to pull back at the last second. A left hand from Till meets the guard, and Whittaker crashes in with a swarm of punches. They both try to connect with booming head kicks, but neither succeed as the second round draws to an end.

Sherdog Scores
Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Whittaker
Ben Duffy scores the round: 10-9 Whittaker
Tristen Critchfield scores the round: 10-9 Whittaker

Round 3
Whittaker begins the round by chopping down the lead leg, and Till may have disclosed to his corner between rounds that there is some significant damage to it. Till wings a left hook, and Whittaker tries to fire back but comes up shy of the mark. A single left from Till gets blocked, and a head kick right after is avoided. When Whittaker tries to advance, Till looks to time the elbow that dropped Whittaker in the first, but the former champ sees it coming. Whittaker swings and misses with another charge, but he does manage to get another leg kick in. They both whiff on big head kicks, with the other bending over backwards to avoid it. When Till steps in to engage, Whittaker pops him with a jab and makes stops “The Gorilla” in his tracks. On an exchange, Till’s eye might have been injured, and he blinks it out and tells Whittaker to come at him. Whittaker obliges in the form of a head kick and a spinning back fist, and Till is able to avoid both. Out of nowhere, Whittaker shoots in for a single, and bails on it to catch Till with a crisp left hook. Whittaker works the lead leg again, and hunkers down with a right hand bomb but cannot connect with it. Whittaker crashes in for a takedown, and Till defends it with an elbow that Whittaker is able to push through. The pace has waned to a great degree as both men try to set up traps and land monster shots, as Whittaker winds up with one last bomb of a right that Till sees coming and ducks. The horn ends the third.

Sherdog Scores
Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Whittaker
Ben Duffy scores the round: 10-9 Whittaker
Tristen Critchfield scores the round: 10-9 Whittaker

Round 4
Like the previous break, Till confides to his corner that he can barely put weight on his lead leg. He does not seem too concerned when the round begins, and he comes out with a left hook and a head kick. Whittaker slaps a kick on the lead leg, and he lands one on the opposite side for good measure. He digs in another as Till shakes his head at him, and the two fake and feint at one another. Whittaker swats at him, and Till is well away before he takes it or a head kick. Till cracks him with an elbow, and Whittaker wears it well as Till races in to do more damage. Whittaker is able to gather his thoughts and throw back, forcing Till to backpedal. They both swing and land right hands at the same time, and Whittaker looks to set up a jab but cannot find the chin. Whittaker changes levels for a single, and then cancels it with a right hand over the top, but Till rolls with it. The strike landing totals are not likely high for this high-stakes, tense showdown. Till lands a single straight left, and Whittaker rushes in with his own as he uppercuts Till on the chin. Till gets a crisp left off, forcing Whittaker to storm forward and try to pursue a takedown. Till stands him up, and Whittaker swings and misses with a combination. The round ends with both men staring at one another.

Sherdog Scores
Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-10
Ben Duffy scores the round: 10-9 Whittaker
Tristen Critchfield scores the round: 10-9 Till

Round 5
The two men embrace when Dean checks in the final round. Whittaker cracks him with a big right hand right out of the gate, and Till shakes his head at it. He loads up another, and Till is just able to dodge it. The former champ shoots in low for a takedown, and Till stuffs it and jabs at him. Till fires up a head kick that gets blocked, and a long left hand partially connects. Till swings and misses on another head kick, and after a pause, Whittaker fires off a right hand. Till skates out of the way without much effort, so Whittaker kicks the leg and then puts a front kick on Till’s torso. Till gets Whittaker’s attention with a one-two, so Whittaker returns with a hard leg kick. They kick at the same time, and when Whittaker gets his off to the leg, Till lands to the body. Whittaker rushes in for a takedown, and like before, he abandons it to ring a right hand home. Till scores a straight left, and Whittaker gathers himself and jumps forward to swing wildly. Till chases after him and hits him on the chops with a pair of left hands, and Whittaker kicks the lead leg with a ferocity that makes Till lift it off the ground. Whittaker sees the reaction, so he targets it once more. When Till does not fire back, Whittaker swings his leg at it one more time, and he looks to his foot after it connects. The former champ charges in with his short takedown to land a left hand, and Till pushes him away. Whittaker comes right back at him, and Till unloads a furious elbow that slices the side of Whittaker’s head open. Dean checks to see if there was a foul, and when action resumes, Whittaker runs at him for a takedown. He mashes Till against the fence to grind out the rest of the round, and this slow-paced fight is now over. We have made it to the end of the evening, after a record 15 fights went down tonight. Thanks for joining us, and we will see you next week. Don't worry, fight fans, there is a UFC card every weekend until October!

Sherdog Scores
Jay Pettry scores the round: 10-9 Whittaker (49-47 Whittaker)
Ben Duffy scores the round: 10-9 Whittaker (49-46 Whittaker)
Tristen Critchfield scores the round: 10-9 Till (48-47 Till)

The Official Result
Robert Whittaker def. Darren Till via Unanimous Decision (48-47, 48-47, 48-47)

Nicolas Dalby vs. Darren Till

Round 1
The long southpaw Till dodges early kicks and grabs the Thai clinch to deliver a few knees to Dalby’s midsection. Dalby steps into the pocket and gets drilled by a straight left hand counter before he can throw a punch. More clinch knees to the body from Till, and now the Englishman adds a kick to the gut. Two minutes in, Dalby wraps up Till in a bodylock but can’t trip him up, and the welterweights split halfway through the round. Till has his hands low, shaking his head after every near miss or grazing strike from Dalby, who opts to clinch again. Till slips free, takes a kick on the leg and switches stances a few times as he cut angles. A quick left straight tags Dalby before the 170-pounder swap leg kicks. Till hears the 10-second clapper and floors Dalby with a beautiful left-handed shovel punch on the jaw. Dalby hits the ground in a heap and just barely survives as Till runs out of time while unloading with more punches on the mat.

Sherdog Scores
Jordan Breen scores the round 10-9 Till
Tristen Critchfield scores the round 10-9 Till
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Till

Round 2
Till takes the center of the cage once again and drills Dalby with a straight left as the Dane steps inside. Another clinch yields more knees for Till, who is still in complete control of the striking exchanges here in round two, even if the pace has fallen off slightly. Halfway through the round, the fighters tangle and Till spins around to take Dalby’s back with a standing rear-waistlock. Dalby scrapes off Till with the help of the fence, and now they’re back to trading with under two minutes on the clock. Till grazes with a left high kick and catches Dalby with a straight left shortly after. Dalby hits a trip takedown but can’t wrangle Till, who posts and stands the moment his back touches the ground. Dalby pressures him on the fence, tries to drop levels but can’t get his left hand free of Till’s wrist control. Dalby lands a knee to the body which Till shrugs off before circling away. Till catches a kick and slugs Dalby with a straight left, then does it again, knocking Dalby to the ground just as time runs out.

Sherdog Scores
Jordan Breen scores the round 10-9 Till
Tristen Critchfield scores the round 10-9 Till
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Till

Round 3
Till opens the final round with another straight left, looks for the Thai clinch but can’t get hold of Dalby’s head. Dalby stuffs a takedown attempt and clips Till with a head kick, which sends the Englishman shooting for another single-leg. Dalby limp-legs out of this, too, and with good reason: Dalby looks like the fresher man as he chases Till around the cage, going hard for a finish. Dalby hits a takedown near the fence 90 seconds in, but again Till gets right back to his feet. Till seems to be fading fast, eating hard punches from Dalby and now backing up against the fence. Till wants to tie up, needs to slow Dalby’s pace, but the Danish fighter won’t be corralled. Dalby drops levels for a double-leg midway through the round, gets it and passes to full mount. Till is giving up his back as he covers up and turns to his right. Dalby feeds left hands under Till’s armpit, but Till somehow gets back to his feet with 75 seconds on the clock. Dalby looks ferocious, chasing Till across the cage to deliver knees and another trip takedown. Till bounces back up and steps backward with his hands low, trying to bait Dalby inside for another uppercut. Dalby dodges the punch and runs Till against the cage again to end the fight.

Sherdog Scores
Jordan Breen scores the round 10-8 Dalby (28-28 Draw)
Tristen Critchfield scores the round 10-8 Dalby (28-28 Draw)
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-8 Dalby (28-28 Draw)

The Official Result
Darren Till vs. Nicolas Dalby ruled a Majority Draw (28-28, 28-28, 29-28) R3 5:00