Tag: Wonderboy

‘Big John’ Sounds Off On Darren Till vs. Wonderboy Decision

Do you agree with Big John?

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Aside from a bevy of MMA action from the United Kingdom, the sport saw a bit of controversy last weekend when hometown favorite Darren Till outlasted Stephen Thompson by unanimous decision in the main event of Sunday’s (May 27, 2018) UFC Liverpool from the Echo Arena in Liverpool, England.

The scores, which featured two head-scratching 49-46 totals for Till in a fight many felt ‘Wonderboy’ had won outright, were met with a predictable backlash from the collective MMA community online, although Thompson himself wouldn’t make any excuses and said he would simply go back to the drawing board.

Many were far more incensed that he was, however, as a large portion of prominent figures in the sport voiced their displeasure at what had transpired in the UFC’s first trip to Liverpool. That includes longtime MMA referee and current Bellator commentator ‘Big John’ McCarthy, who spoke up on Twitter to detail his views on the fight.

In his eyes, Till’s pressuring and octagon control wasn’t enough to defeat Thompson, whom he felt landed the cleaner strikes:

“Sorry but controlling the Octagon does not give you the round. landed the cleaner harder shots in the first 3 rounds. Sad that people that are supposed to know about the sport are lacking greatly in their knowledge of what is scored in a round.”

McCarthy then responded to a fan named Thomas who suggested Till had won every aspect of the bout including striking, grappling, and octagon control, telling him that if, and only if, the striking and grappling were even, which ‘Big John’ thinks they were not in this instance, is octagon control even taken into consideration:

“Thomas, I’m sure I would like you too, but just because the UFC puts something on its broadcast doesn’t mean it is scored like that. So you know, striking & or grappling will be the sole determinant of who wins a round unless they are exactly equal, then u bring in aggression. If that is equal then the last element the judge will use is cage or Octagon Control. Oh and so you know, I’m pretty sure about this because I wrote it.”

Till ultimately won the battle of significant strikes by a small margin in a tentative fight, and he also scored the fight’s only knockdown in addition to controlling the octagon, three factors that would suggest he won rather handily.

But McCarthy suggested that the person quantifying the significant strikes was simply a ‘TV guy’ who didn’t necessarily take into account that all strikes were the same, raising another reason why it was questionable Till had won:

“So tell me who is the person pushing the button on what they believe to be a significant strike? It’s just a TV guy. 2nd all punches, kicks, knees etc are not the same. This is where people start to get confused when assessing who is winning a fight.”

Do you agree with ‘Big John’s’ harsh assessment of how the controversial UFC Liverpool main event was scored?

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Pic: Controversial Darren Till vs. Stephen Thompson Scorecard

How did you score Darren Till vs. Stephen Thompson?

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The mixed martial arts (MMA) world is dealing with a bit of a wildfire after Darren Till’s close, perhaps even controversial unanimous decision win over Stephen Thompson (watch highlights here) in the main event of today’s (Sun., May 27, 2018) UFC Liverpool from the Echo Arena in Liverpool, England.

The tepid match-up was packed with respect for the other’s striking game from both sides. There were lulls in the action with Thompson intermittently landing some crisp combos and decent body kicks as Till stalked his foe endlessly despite landing few clean punches while doing so. But he did find some success with leg kicks and landed the biggest moment of the fight when he dropped ‘Wonderboy’ in the fifth round.

So while it certainly a close fight where you probably couldn’t have argued if it went either way by a nod of 48-47, heads immediately turned so fast they got whiplash when Till was announced the winner by a unanimous decision with two 49-46 counts in his favor. “Wonderboy” believed he won, but also wasn’t about to complain about the call in a post-fight spot, a sentiment not echoed by much of the MMA community online.

Here’s a picture of the controversial scorecard from MMA Fighting’s Shaheen Al-Shatti. Take a look and let us know what you think:

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Stephen Thompson Reacts To Ultra-Close Decision Loss At UFC Liverpool

Stephen Thompson reacted to his close decision loss to Darren Till:

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Former welterweight title challenger Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson lost a fight where had little to gain when he met hometown favorite Darren Till in the main event of today’s (Sun., May 27, 2018) UFC Liverpool (highlights here)  from the Echo Arena in Liverpool, England.

The anticipated headliner was a closely-measured, tentative affair from both rising star Till and respected karate master Thompson, who had drawn some criticism for being too focused on counterstriking in the past. Although he out-landed Till in total strikes and scored the only takedown of the fight, it was the Liverpudlian who pressed the pace and landed by far the most impactful shot of the fight when he dropped “Wonderboy” with a huge left hand over the top in the fifth round.

While the close fight could have gone to either man, a larger controversy swirled online when the hometown fighter was somehow granted 49-46 scores on two of the judges’ cards. After the loss – his second in his last four UFC match-ups, Thompson reacted to the loss in an interview with Megan Olivi on the FOX Sports 1 post-fight show. Thompson cited Till’s size for the division as the reason he couldn’t get much offense working:

“Um, yeah, I thought I edged it out, but you know, it is what it is. He’s a big boy. He’s definitely a big boy, you can feel his weight out there a little bit. But you know what? It is what it is.”

Even though it was a closely-fought bout with many lulls in action, Thompson’s legs were bruised from Till’s nonstop attack of chopping low kicks. With his right leg looking badly chewed up, he admitted it was actually his left leg that prevented him from fighting like he wanted to, but he wasn’t going to make excuses:

“My left leg a little bit, kept me from moving around like I wanted to, but no excuses.”

According to the former top-ranked contender, Till felt like a wall whenever he blitzed forward looking to land strikes, a dynamic that stalled his assaults:

“No, usually when guys, whenever I blitz forward they back up, I can use my weight a little bit. But it was like running into a brick wall. You know, every time I would come in, he was right there in front of me. But no excuses, go back to the drawing board and come back better next time.”

Finally, Thompson was asked if the fact that Till had missed weight by 3.5 pounds yesterday played into his size and strength, but ‘Wonderboy’ didn’t take the bait. Instead, he congratulated his younger foe, said he was going to get his leg checked, and then finally go back to the drawing board and rebound from the defeat:

“You know what, it is what it is, you know, gonna go back and definitely learn from this, but you know, hat’s off to Darren.

“I wanna get my left leg checked out, see how is it’s doing, and then yeah, go back to the drawing board and see where we go from there.”

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Darren Till vs. Stephen Thompson Full Fight Video Highlights

Check out the highlights of Darren Till’s close decision win over Stephen Thompson at #UFCLiverpool:

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Touted welterweight contender Darren Till picked up a huge unanimous decision win over Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson in front of his hometown crowd in the main event of today’s (Sun., May 27, 2018) UFC Liverpool from the Echo Arena in Liverpool, England.

While it may have been a somewhat debatable decision considering two jaw-dropping 49-46 scorecards for Till in a tactical, back-and-forth main event, Till nonetheless scored by far the biggest win of his career by outlasting Thompson. He did it, presumably, by pressuring a much more tentative ‘Wonderboy,’ who appeared to land more clean strikes regardless as he switched stances repeatedly, countered, and scored a short-lived takedown.

But Till landed a torrent of low kicks that bruised and reddened Thompson’s legs, and he landed the biggest strike of the fight when he dropped “Wonderboy” with a left hand in the fifth frame. It was a close decision that many considered controversial, and the two 49-46 scorecards are ridiculous marks for a young rising star in his hometown even if you gave the fight to Till. Perhaps the crowd, who predictably wooed loudly every time Till even threw a punch, had a big hand in the decision.

It was a close and debatable decision either way in a fight where neither man seemed truly intent on going for the win. What few highlights of the bout consisted of Till essentially chasing his down to land a glancing shot:

And as mentioned, the biggest moment of the fight was Till’s fifth-round knockdown thanks to a big left. Watch two angles of the big shot here:

Emotional from the biggest win of his career, Till then unleashed a fired-up post-fight speech as he heads toward the top of the talented UFC welterweight class:

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UFC Liverpool Post-Fight Press Conference

Join LowKick MMA for the UFC Liverpool post-fight press conference streaming live here:

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Today’s (Sun., May 27, 2018) UFC Liverpool is in the books from the Echo Arena in Liverpool, England.

In the main event, hyped Liverpudlian welterweight Darren Till picked up a massive unanimous decision win over former two-time title challenger Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson following a tactical five-round fight from both top talents.

Longtime welterweight veteran Neil Magny finished UFC debutant Craig White in the co-main event, while hometown favorite Arnold Allen pulled off a rare ninja choke to secure an amazing comeback on the main event.

Watch the event’s post-fight press conference streaming live shortly after the main card’s conclusion below:

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Till Meets Thompson’s Terms, UFC Liverpool Main Event A Go

The UFC Liverpool main event will move forward full steam:

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The UFC Liverpool main event is still on.

After hometown favorite Darren Till missed weight by 3.5 pounds yesterday for his headlining bout against Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson at today’s (Sun., May 27, 2018) UFC Liverpool from the Echo Arena in Liverpool, England, Thompson’s camp laid forth several terms they required Till to meet for the fight to move forward.

The main tenets were that Till had to weigh in at no more than 188 pounds on fight day and hand over 30 percent of his purse.

He was unsure if he would be able to meet those terms in a healthy fashion, but earlier today Till did just that by weighing in at 187.3 during a second weigh-in which Thompson’s team was allowed to watch firsthand. Ariel Helwani tweeted a photo a source sent him of the scale confirming Till made the second weight:

For what it’s worth, Till was given an extra hour to check in for the weigh-ins yesterday due to a family emergency that may have affected his cut.

However, he’s known as one of if not the biggest welterweights in the UFC, and it is his second time missing weight, although this one was obviously much more high-profile due to the fact he’s headlining a high-profile main event in the UFC’s first voyage to Liverpool.

Thompson weighed 185.2 pounds at 12:30 p.m. local time.

 

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