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It appears that the UFC welterweight division is finally moving again.
With an(other) interim title reportedly in the final stages of negotiation between Colby “Scat” Covington and Rafael dos Anjos, Stephen Thompson is reportedly set, or all but set, to fight Darren Till in the UFC: Liverpool main event on May 27. Till had previously been announced as a headliner with the opponent To Be Decided.
Breaking! Per sources Stephen Thompson answers the call! “Wonderboy” is set to fight Darren Till in the main event of #UFCLiverpool
— Chris Taylor (@CTaylor_96) March 23, 2018
Ariel Helwani, a journalist for MMA Fighting and host of the MMA Hour, confirmed that the fight is close but not totally finalized yet.
Close. UFC has wanted that one for months, and it’s close, but not 100% at this moment. https://t.co/imp8SBbvCU
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) March 23, 2018
The choice of Thompson is a good one in terms of entertainment value, and a tough test for Till. Known for his karate base and striking ability, Thompsos came as close to the title as it is possible to get, going to a draw with Tyron Woodley back at UFC 205, then narrowly losing a controversial (and boring) majority decision in the rematch. Woodley has been the only recent opponent capable of forcing “Wonderboy” into a boring fight. He bounced back with a clean decision win over Jorge Masvidal in his last performance.
Till, meanwhile, burst onto the scene with a first round knockout over Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone. He is a massive welterweight, and showed excellent cage craft in that bout, cutting of the escape and forcing Cerrone to the fence. In the past, Till has been known to suffer from cardio issues later in bouts, an area where Thompson could potentially test him. Both fighters like to fight long, out of a somewhat similar hands-low stance, and it will be interesting to find out whether Thompson’s elusive distance management will be able to defuse Till’s pressure.
This presumably ends the hunt for the right opponent for Till. Is “Wonderboy” the right choice to face off against the 25-year old Scouser?
Insomnia
While Chris Taylor is on welterweight fights today (he also broke the Covington-dos Anjos news), he also announced Neil Magny vs. Santiago Ponzinibbio is “in the works” for the Santiago, Chile card.
A welterweight showdown between Neil Magny and Santiago Ponzinibbio is in the works for #UFCChile on May 19!
— Chris Taylor (@CTaylor_96) March 23, 2018
Forrest E. Griffin’s letter to his boss, the Sheriff of Richmond County, Georgia, to request leave to participate in The Ultimate Fighter 1. It would change both his career and the the course of UFC history.
Talented featherweight prospect Cory Sandhagen doing pad work with a cast or brace on one hand
Georges St. Pierre demonstrates how to lay on top of someone to win a fight
Tyron Woodley, who despite his constant superfight thirst has been one of the most active UFC champions in welterweight history, gets the pleasure of watching Rafael Dos Anjos and Colby Covington fight for an interim belt.
among ufc welterweight champs, the average # of days between title fights looks to be around 200 days
woodley has averaged 121 days between title fights, lowest of everyone (hughes 1st run is next at 137 days between)
if he doesnt fight until july 31 2018, it goes to 183 days
— Leg Kickin Tacos (@LegKickTKO) March 22, 2018
This video by Case Harts illustrating Sage Northcutt’s waterfall run out of California’s bear country is excellent and hilarious.
Remember when @sagenorthcutt almost got eaten by a bear?
Via @SubmissionAus animated by @caseharts pic.twitter.com/nusBsUyEgb
— Bloody Elbow (@BloodyElbow) March 22, 2018
Right in the dick.
Judo referees kill me. They never see the tap.
I’ve been guilty of this:
The real number one fight of all time
I’m not sure how I feel about this, or what happened before he started filming, but this dude doesn’t want to fight and he’s hiding behind his girl.
It was cool of Conor McGregor’s account manager to post this.
In case you didn’t realize Nick Newell can block head kicks:
Tony Ferguson boxing blind
Patricio PItbull refutes Michael Chandler’s accounting of events after Brent Primus pulled out of his rematch with Chandler in April.
According to Michael Chandler (@MikeChandlerMMA), Patricio Pitbull declined to fight him, after Brent Primus pulled out of their title fight on April 13. He is not happy with either one. https://t.co/Ox5L7U7V5P
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) March 22, 2018
My brother was offered an interim title fight,but he’s hurt.I asked to fight in his place right away. It was set.Bellator then sent me a contract for 3R,which wasn’t what we agreed to.I even said ok to no interim,but wanted 5R.They said they’d go w/ someone else.That was on them. https://t.co/Z83RRrON5q
— Patricio Freire (@PatricioPitbull) March 22, 2018
Slips, Rips, KO Clips
This is always worth another look
Did you miss Takeru’s magnificent display of violence in last night’s GP? Let me get you up to speed. #K1_WGP pic.twitter.com/pWgWeDm22V
— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) March 21, 2018
Boxing was tonight and it was not kind to this man’s organs
Raul Curiel stops Quantavious Green in the 2nd via liver shot #GarciaVargas pic.twitter.com/baI2n5IHqe
— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) March 22, 2018
#GarciaVargas #GBonESPN pic.twitter.com/iC4WELQ3Dz
— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) March 23, 2018
Eddie Gomez TKO2 Keandre Gibson #GBonESPN pic.twitter.com/OKQxz7PXAa
— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) March 23, 2018
Podcasts and Video
AJ and I chat about last weekend’s card and Aldo-Stephens. Check us out on SoundCloud as well as iTunes and Stitcher on the official MMA Mania channel! Follow MMA Mania on Youtube too
MMA Ratings
Good Reads
- The five things that brought down the hegemony of Anthony Pettis
- Joe Rogan’s got the right idea: he wants guaranteed UFC purses, no win bonuses, so incompetent judges stop routinely messing up half a fighter’s paycheck.
Random Land
I don’t care who you are, this will make your day better
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