Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Welterweight kickboxers Donald Cerrone and Darren Till clashed yesterday (Oct. 21, 2017) at UFC Fight Night 118 inside Ergo Arena in Gdansk, Poland.
For the first time in his professional career, Cerrone entered this bout on a two-fight losing streak. The brought up some questions about how much “Cowboy” had left in the tank, and Cerrone was motivated to show he’s still a top athlete.
On the other hand, Till had yet to taste defeat as a professional. Despite the massive jump in competition, Till walked to the cage with incredible confidence.
Till looked sharp early, defending a takedown and shooting mean straight shots down the middle. As Till began to build momentum with his cross and left kick, Cerrone succeeded in his second shot but could not hold the bigger man down.
Alongside his size advantage, Till seemed the more comfortable man. He was loose and firing well, while Cerrone looked uncomfortable and could only find a home for some low kicks. That slowly changed as the round wore on and gain confidence. “Cowboy” began to find a home for more than the leg kick, and it seemed like things were evening out.
Then, a 1-2 down the center buckled Cerrone’s knees. Till followed up as Cerrone was trapped along the fence, firing a heavy elbow and then flurrying with massive shots. Cerrone covered up and ate punch after punch, eventually crumpling to the mat as the referee called the bout.
This was a stellar showing from Till and fully lived up to his potential. He switched it up a bit to pressure Cerrone hard, something Cerrone historically does not like. Till has always been reliant on a clean cross, and he fired it down the center over and over. Keeping his body loose, that left hand was quick enough to shock “Cowboy” repeatedly.
Once Till smelled blood, he didn’t let up. Cerrone is a slow starter and isn’t quite as durable as he once was, so it completely benefited Till to let loose. Despite all the aggression, Till never tensed up and continued throwing accurate and fast combinations.
After this win, Till will be ranked within the top 10. He called out Mike Perry, which is an interesting move and resulted in an awesome face off through the cage. IF Perry defeats Ponzinibbio, it’s a great fight between two violent strikers. If not, Till should look further up the ladder rather than behind him.
This is a rough loss for Cerrone, who never quite got into his grove. He’s a historically slow starter, and it could be argued that this is another example of that flaw coming back to bite him. At the same time, pressure and straight punches have also long been an issue for “Cowboy,” and those were the weapons that Till applied.
Till was also the larger man to a significant degree.
The result was likely influenced by all of those factors, but it leaves Cerrone in a bad spot at three straight losses. Prior to this year, he had never been stopped by head strikes, which has now happened twice.
I’m not ready to say Cerrone is done or anything quite so dramatic, but “Cowboy” should consider his next move carefully.
Last night at UFC Fight Night 118, Darren Till announced himself as a contender with a first round knockout. Is Mike Perry next for the Englishman?
For complete UFC Fight Night 118 “Cerrone vs. Till” results and play-by-play, click HERE!