In a tactical showdown between two immense strikers, Darren Till’s pressure and heavy strikes saw the hometown hero emerge victorious against the #1 ranked contender Stephen Thompson.
While many disagreed with the wide nature of two judges scorecards, Till and Thompson both fought a respectfully cautious fight over the five rounds where the Scouser’s aggressiveness surely played its part in chalking up the rounds.
With Till rightly in a boisterous mood in his post-fight interview, the Liverpudlian remained coy later on concerning his chances of a title shot after having missed the 170 lbs weight limit.
Elsewhere at UFC: Liverpool, Neil Magny provided a reminder that there are levels to mixed martial arts as he swiftly dispatched of his short notice opponent Craig White at his first opportunity. Sunday night’s event also saw big wins for two featherweight prospects in Arnold Allen and Makwan Amirkhani while Claudio Silva and Darren Stewart scored big stoppage wins in the opening bouts of the main card.
With UFC: Liverpool now in history books, here are five fights that the UFC should make with the Echo Arena’s big winners:
Darren Till vs Kamaru Usman
Admittedly, I thought that if Darren Till beat Stephen Thompson he should immediately get a title shot once Tyron Woodley had fought the interim champion.
With Till missing weight, however, I don’t feel comfortable with ‘The Gorilla’ getting a championship fight.
Instead, with Kamaru Usman sitting in a similar position to Till, a match-up between the two young prospects would declutter the division’s title picture and establish a new #1 contender.
Neil Magny vs Jorge Masvidal
Taking a short-notice replacement is never an easy task, but Neil Magny did his best to make it look like one on Sunday night.
Magny is now on a two-fight win streak in the 170 lbs division and deserves a higher ranked opponent.
With Jorge Masvidal currently sitting at #7 in the rankings and offering a back-and-forth with Magny on social media, a Masvidal – Magny bout would make sense for both men.
Arnold Allen vs Gray Maynard
Facing a decision loss after Mads Burnell routinely took Arnold Allen down, the 24-year old from Ipswich knew it was now or never in the third round.
Latching onto a ninja choke from the clinch, Allen recorded his fourth submission victory in his professional career and is now 4-0 in the UFC.
Allen should continue his climb up the featherweight division with an experienced name in his next outing and Gray Maynard would provide stern opposition stylistically.
Makwan Amirkhani vs Shane Burgos
After eating some stinging strikes in the first round, Makwan Amirkhani returned to his wrestling base in the following rounds and came away with a split-decision against Jason Knight.
Amirkhani is now 4-1 in the UFC since making his promotional debut in 2015 and with a win over Jason Knight, ‘Mr. Finland’ has a big name on his resume.
A fight with fellow prospect Shane Burgos would provide a similar stylistic match-up for Amirkhani to contend with and would most likely produce fireworks.
Claudio Silva vs Alan Jouban
Claudio Silva had spent four years on the sidelines due to injury prior to UFC: Liverpool but the Brazilian burst back onto the scene with a submission win over the talented Nordine Taleb.
Silva needs to get back onto the horse to continue his momentum and a fight with Alan Jouban would be a tough test for both men.