For the very first time in over a year, the welterweight name will be on the line since Tyron Woodley returns to defend his belt against Darren Till at UFC 228 in Dallas, Texas on September 8. The champion, who hasn’t fought because UFC 214 in July of 2017, opened as the -1300 favorite looking to hand the undefeated challenger his first career loss as Till came back at EVEN chances.
This is actually the third straight fight that Till has become the underdog, and of course, he’s been successful in both of these previous scraps, such as a unanimous decision over former title challenger Stephen Thompson. “The Gorilla” has had trouble on the scales as he weighed in at 174 lbs in his last fight and weighed at 176 lbs three struggles prior — the 170-pound limitation might be an issue for the challenger. Woodley has been a favored in each of his last two fights, and it appears that because he won the belt at UFC 201, he’d rather hold on to it rather than seeking the end. A mindset like that contrary to Until could get him in trouble.
Will Woodley vs forever perform?
Woodley (-130) has terrifying volatile power that can finish the fight with a single punch. In addition,”The Chosen One” includes a remarkable takedown defense of 94 percent, having just been shot down once in his UFC career, by current Bellator welterweight champion Rory MacDonald. The 36-year-old has five career submissions but all of them came in his first five fights. Since then, he has chosen the knockout route to finish his opponents, making six T/KOs over his following 13 fights. The champ looks for an opportunity to counter and swarms with true one-punch knockout power. Woodley was out since UFC 214 rehabbing after shoulder surgery from a torn labrum.
Until (EVEN) is long and athletic. He enters this bout 17-0-1 using 10 of his victories coming by means of T/KO. “The Gorilla” needed a huge step-up in competition when he awakened with the always-dangerous Stephen Thompson in UFC Fight Night Liverpool in May. Until implemented his game plan perfectly, averting the outstanding counter top of”Wonderboy” while landing enough strikes to win the battle. The 25-year-old needed a totally opposite style when he battled longtime veteran Donald Cerrone, where Till only swarmed him with impressive energy and scored the first-round T/KO.
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