UFC 228 finally has its main event, and I’ll give my thoughts on this controversial booking in today’s MMA odds and ends.
Tyron Woodley vs. Darren Till, UFC 228
UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley will look to make another successful title defense when he takes on Darren Till in the main event of UFC 228, which takes place Saturday, September 8 at American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. The UFC has officially confirmed the booking and UFC president Dana Wite confirmed that interim welterweight champion Colby Covington will be stripped of his title as an injury is keeping him from competing in September. The UFC needed a main event so it decided to give Till the title shot again Woodley even though Till just missed weight in his last fight, and even though Covington won the interim strap just last month. Fans, media and fighters have taken to social media to express their concern with the UFC’s decision to strip Covington of the title, a decision which further shows the company is all about PPV buys and entertainment value at this point rather than pure sport.
Woodley (18-3-1) has not competed since last July when he bested Demian Maia in one of the worst welterweight title fights of all time. All told, Woodley has defended or retained the title he won from Robbie Lawler in 2016 three times so far, with a pair of fights with Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson ultimately concluding with Woodley as the victor. Woodley hasn’t fought in well over a year and it will be interesting to see if he shows any signs of ring rust in this bout. Till (17-0-1) is undefeated in his six UFC bouts and is coming off of a very controversial decision win over Thompson in a fight where he badly missed weight. Till is a big star and the UFC views him as its new golden boy in England now that Michael Bisping has retired, but it’s still surprising to see him get a title shot considering he missed weight against Thompson. Having said that, this is a fight Till can win. He should have the striking advantage against Woodley, although the champ will have the edge in wresstling. Although I don’t agreed with the fight and believe the UFC should have waited for Covington to heal up, I do think it’s an intriguing fight and if Till can pull off the upset he could become the next big thing in MMA.
