UFC Fight Night: Derek Brunson vs Darren Till Preview, Odds, Prediction

Derek Brunson and Darren Till will square off in one very interesting UFC Fight Night this Saturday. The two middleweight have high hopes here, aiming to win and position themselves as the possible title contenders in the upcoming period. Right now, it appears that Israel Adesanya’s next challenger would be Robert Whittaker, meaning that all other names in the division have to wait for their turn later. Brunson is in solid form, while on the other side, Till is a bit of an enigma right now,

Preview

Derek Brunson (+135) has four victories in a row, and he really did put a spotlight on him in the recent few months. The victory over surging Kevin Holland was an exclamation point to a three-win streak, that saw Brunson beating Elias Theodorou, Ian Heinisch, and Edmen Shabazyan, whom he TKO.

Holland was a contender, and a name that has been in the books for a showdown against Izzy, but after the loss, Brunson emerged as one of the possible rivals for the champ.

The 37-year old is very good on the ground, and knows how to use his size and power, while his stand-up fighting relies upon strong punches and combos. Brunson has a KO-power in his strikes, but is often too open after throwing the same, and we often saw him receiving severe punishment once missing his attacks. After all, he suffered five KO losses in his career, against Izzy, Jacare Souza, and Whittaker, for example.

Darren Till (-175) was undefeated until his match against Tyron Woodley for the UFC welterweight title. After that one, he lost twice more, beating only Kelvin Gastelum in the meantime, via split decision. According to some, he didn’t deserve to win that bout, and we do agree that it could have ended either way.

Till decided to focus on middleweight, and his latest fight was against Whittaker, which he lost via unanimous decision. The reason for his switch to the heavier division was the fact that he lost a lot of energy while cutting weight.

Till is a very good striker, one of the most appealing for watching in both welterweight and middleweight, and his main strength comes from fighting in the stand-up. He is able to inflict a lot of damage in a short period and will no doubt aim to do the same in this event.

Prediction

Till is a favorite, even though he is an enigma for us. His tactical approach is much better than Brunson’s, as the American often rushes into some not-so-clever situations. That could, and in our opinion, will be the decisive factor on Saturday night. Till is a bit faster than his rival, and he will wait for that one mistake. If he ends up in the position to hurt Brunson, there won’t be a way back for the American, and that is why our pick here would be Till to win, for those braver ones, Till to win via stoppage.

Pick: Darren Till -175