UFC Middleweights Darren Till and Derek Brunson are slated to butt heads in a UFC headliner on August 14th. Chiefly, the initial report of the fight came out via ESPN and was later confirmed to sources of MMA Fighting.
The bout comes in as another booking in an unofficial tournament that’s going on currently in the UFC’s Middleweight division.
Over the course of the last two months, several marquee middleweight match-ups have come together to decide the next contender.
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Marvin Vettori, Kevin Holland, Robert Whittaker, and Kelvin Gastelum were part of the round-up. In fact, Derek Brunson was already a part of the aforementioned round-up and is gearing for his second go-around.
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UFC Middleweights: Darren Till vs Derek Brunson- How did we get here?
‘The Gorilla’ was slated to fight at UFC Vegas 23 against Marvin Vettori in a headlining spot; however, he suffered an injury. Not too long before the fight was to be underway, Darren Till broke his collarbone and was ruled out.
Kevin Holland stepped in on short notice, in place of Till to salvage the main event booking for the card.
Holland stayed true to his mantra of staying busy and was actually coming off a defeat to Derek Brunson 3 weeks prior. Derek Brunson dominated ‘The Trailblazer’ in an absolute shut-out at UFC Vegas 22. He’s now on a 4-fight win streak and has managed to become a major player in the title landscape once more.
How does Robert Whittaker fit into this?
The match-up between Till and Brunson is a pivotal step, especially when considering the lay of the land. With Israel Adesanya booked to fight Marvin Vettori, the winner of Till vs Brunson could be next in line.
However, with Robert Whittaker’s stellar 3-fight win streak, it’s unlikely anyone will be passed over ‘The Reaper’.
However, due to the expected gap inactivity, Robert Whittaker may end up taking another fight in the interim. Stylistically, Till will have to be wary of Brunson’s credentialed wrestling background that has proven to be an effective weapon.
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The bout certainly ticks all the boxes and provides fans with the perfect wrestler vs grappler match-up.
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