Derek Brunson’s wrestling continues to prove problematic for top UFC middleweights.
At UFC Fight Night 191, Brunson (23-7 MMA, 14-5 UFC) took on Darren Till in an important matchup for the division. The middleweight bout served as the main event which took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. It streamed on ESPN+.
Till (18-4-1 MMA, 6-4-1 UFC) crowded Brunson early in the first, putting the pressure on with strikes upstairs. “Let’s go Darren,” chants began from the small crowd in attendance. The biggest question coming into the fight was how long could Till keep the fight standing.
Brunson answered that question by completing his first takedown with plenty of time remaining in the first round. After securing a dominant position on top, Brunson postured up and began unloading hard punches while Till covered up and tried to escape from the bottom.
Brunson remained heavy on top and continued to find space to land heavy punches. With a minute remaining, Till was able to push off and get the fight back to standing for the remainder of the round.
Till would defend the first and second takedown attempts in the second round, but the third from Brunson was successful midway through.
Staying heavy from half guard, Brunson kept the pressure high while looking for room to land strikes as Till held on tightly. The pair returned to the feet in the clinch with just a few seconds remaining in the round.
Till let his hands go a little more frequently to start the third round and also added a few hard leg kicks to the mix. He was also able to avoid clinching from Brunson early and appeared to have Brunson in trouble after landing a few punches. However, that didn’t stop the wrestler from completing a takedown that would spell the end of the fight.
After getting the fight to the canvas one last time, Brunson ended up in mount, transitioned to Till’s back, and locked in a rear-naked choke to get the tap.
Brunson improves to five straight wins on his current streak, matching his previous best run in the UFC from 2014-2016. During his post-fight interview, he called for the middleweight champion Israel Adesanya to start mentioning his name for a rematch. Brunson also said he wouldn’t mind waiting around for the winner of the next title fight.
Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 191 results include:
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Derek Brunson def. Darren Till via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 3, 2:13
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Tom Aspinall def. Serghei Spivac via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 2:30
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Alex Morono def. David Zawada via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
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Khalil Rountree def. Modestas Bukauskas via TKO (leg kick) – Round 2, 2:30
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Paddy Pimblett def. Luigi Vendramini via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 4:25
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Molly McCann def. Ji Yeon Kim via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
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Jack Shore def. Liudvik Sholinian via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
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Julian Erosa def. Charles Jourdain via submission (D’Arce choke) – Round 3, 2:56
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Marc-Andre Barriault def. Dalcha Lungiambula via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)