Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Welterweight scrappers Darren Till and Jorge Masvidal threw down last night (March 16, 2019) at UFC Fight Night 147 inside 02 Arena in London, England.
Till rose to his first title shot on a big wave of momentum propelled by an undefeated career, but the Englishman looked flat inside the cage with the champion. It was a dominant loss, a difficult situation for young fighters accustomed to winning easily. Last night was his first bout back since that loss, making his performance especially important. Alternatively, this was not Masvidal’s first time recovering from a loss. “Gamebred” has seen it all in his 16-year professional career, so going to his foe’s hometown was unlikely to faze the veteran, who was also looking to bounce back into the title mix.
In one of the more bizarre starts to an mixed martial arts (MMA) fight in the entire history of the sport, Masvidal landed an accidental running oblique kick to the groin. Immediately upon the reset, Masvidal was dropped by a cross, but “Gamebred” bounced back to his feet rather quickly as usual.
The whole weird exchange lasted 30 seconds.
Back on the feet, Masvidal looked to kick the leg, whereas Till aimed at the head with his straight punches. Both men looked for takedowns as well, with Till briefly gaining top position while Masvidal released the leg to fire punches. Both men landed some massive power punches across the round too, as Till scored some brutal lefts when Masvidal was stuck against the fence. Later in the fight, Masvidal began landing consistent power punches as well, catching Till leaning back.
Till won the round, but both men were firing on all cylinders.
Masvidal landed a hard body kick and early takedown to start the second, but Till was able to shake him off the back mount and stand almost immediately. Since the beginning of the round, Masvidal seemed to have a good read on his opponent’s timing, landing the right body kick and overhand with real consistency. In addition, Masvidal was getting inside Till’s range and escaping back to a distance, often without getting touched. Till landed some hard jabs, but his crisp left hand was being slipped. Till didn’t seemed bothered by the power shots, but they were landing.
Suddenly, Masvidal threw a switch-cross and rolling left hook from the Southpaw stance. Masvidal’s footwork while throwing the punches closed that extra few inches of distance, allowing his left — with his full weight behind it — to crash into Till’s chin. Till was immediately unconscious, and Masvidal hit him once more before the Englishman’s back hit the mat (watch highlights!).
Masvidal is one of the most underrated fighters of all time, in large part because of his inconsistent performances and odd losses across a long career. When he’s on point, however, there are few men as skilled or dangerous.
Last night was another perfect example of Masvidal’s craft. He may have gotten dropped early — he always does and somehow looks perfectly fine immediately after! — but Masvidal landed on Till’s chin more consistently than anyone else. “Gamebred” had to absorb some shots along the fence to really get an understanding of the timing and range, but by the second round, Masvidal was the more accurate man.
The ending combination was simply beautiful.
Equally nice to see was Masvidal’s aggression, as he’s somewhat known for matching his opponent’s pace. Till was aggressive himself, which certainly helped Masvidal avoid a low output fight, but the Florida-native matched his opponent’s volume and extended his own combinations.
Truly excellent work from Masvidal, who hopefully will receive another big opportunity next.
It’s also a crushing blow to Till, who largely got the fight he desired. Till traded rangy power shots with Masvidal from his wheelhouse, but Masvidal found his chin more often. Part of that is due to the experience of Masvidal — he gave Till a lot of different looks while sticking to high-percentage techniques like that right kick to the body. However sharp Till’s jab and cross looked, he didn’t have enough variety. Like in his loss against Woodley, Till needed more left kicks, otherwise his push forward grew more predictable.
Last night, Jorge Masvidal landed a dramatic knockout in the second round. Who should ‘Gamebred’ face next?
For complete UFC Fight Night 147: “Till Vs. Masvidal” results and play-by-play, click HERE!