2017 Magic MMA Moments: Relive Darren Till Smashing Donald Cerrone At UFC Gdansk
It’s Darren Till’s 25th birthday today and what a year it’s been for the Liverpudlian.
Back in May, Till returned from a near 18-month stint on the sidelines at UFC Fight Night 109 where he faced Jessin Ayari. Till missed weight, but from there on out, he probably couldn’t have scripted the win any better. The Liverpudlian went on to via unanimous decision and he recorded his second win under the UFC banner. Till then faced Bojan Velickovic at UFC Fight Night 115 in Rotterdam, Netherlands and won another unanimous decision in impressive fashion.
That victory set Till up for the biggest opportunity of his career and he later went on to reveal that Sean Shelby approached him about facing Donald Cerrone just hours after his fight in Rotterdam at the fighter hotel. The Liverpudlian was never going to turn the opportunity down and just a few days later, the fight was made for UFC Fight Night 118 in Gdansk, Poland.
Critics, media and oddsmakers quickly wrote off Till’s chances of overcoming the former UFC title challenger, but doubt seemingly never entered his mind. Till spoke before the fight of how he planned to take the fight to Cerrone from the outset and he didn’t lie.
After entering the arena to the very fitting music of ‘In the air tonight’ by Phil Collins, Till set a fast pace from the outset and Cerrone simply couldn’t live with it. Till finished the fight when he landed a big straight left that dipped Cerrone’s knees with 55-seconds left in the first round. From there, he landed a big elbow and several follow up shots as Cerrone covered up against the cage. With Till landing several more blows that sent Cerrone to the mat turtling up, referee Marc Goddard dove in to call the fight.
Liverpool, stand up! ??
There’s a new star in town and his name is Darren Till! ? pic.twitter.com/X1JkKbt4yB
— UFC on BT Sport (@btsportufc) October 22, 2017
A star was born in Gdansk. 2017 was big for Till, but 2018 could be even bigger.
