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TAKEN ITS TILL

Tyron Woodley beats Darren Till in second round to retain welterweight world title in UFC 228

Liverpudlian Till suffered defeat for the first time in his 18-fight UFC career but was undone by the veteran world champion

By Joshua Jones
9th September 2018, 7:51 am
Updated: 9th September 2018, 8:21 am

DARREN TILL was beaten by submission Tyron Woodley in his UFC welterweight title fight at UFC 228 in Texas last night.

The Liverpool fighter lasted until 4:19 in the second round when Woodley dropped him with a right hand and forced a tap out with a D’arce choke.
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Tyron Woodley beat Darren Till with a second-round submission at UFC 228 to retain his UFC welterweight title

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Woodley knocked Till down with a powerful right hand and won with 41 seconds remaining in the second round

Till was previously unbeaten going into the fight from 18 bouts and was bidding to become only Britain’s second UFC world champion after Michael Bisping.

But he was undone by the American MMA star, who started well and proved too strong for the Liverpudlian.

Till, 25, said: “Tyron was the better man. I’m gutted.

“I’ll be back stronger. It just really, really hurts.”
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Till held his own in the first round and did well to keep the American at bay but landed just one strike in the whole bout

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It was Woodley’s fourth successful defence of his 170lb belt he first won in 2016

It was the biggest bout of his career to date but he knew he was second best, rising to his feet after submitting to shake Woodley’s hand.

The opening round was a tight affair, with Woodley and The Gorilla locking horns and testing each other out.

But the veteran Missouri man took control in the second and proved doubters who felt he was past his best wrong.

The reigning champion, who has now defended the 170lb belt he won in 2016 four times, allowed Till to land just one strike in over nine minutes of fighting.

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The American veteran was past his best according to some doubters but proved them wrong with a dominant performance in Texas

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There was a mutual respect on display between the two fighters afterwards as Till admitted he was beaten by the better man

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The Liverpudlian 25-year-old was left gutted after losing his first UFC fight and missed his chance to become world champion

And the 36-year-old said: “He’s a tough kid. My coach told me to be ready to go all the way in.

“I was just taking my time. I saw he wasn’t going away easy and took my time to get the job done.

“This feels pretty awesome. I don’t believe in ring rust, but I’ve been away for 14 months.”

Till was embraced by his opponent’s mother following the bout in what was a heartfelt moment.

Questions will now be asked whether Till can make it to the very top of the sport, as suggested by UFC president Dana White, and whether the six-foot star should make the switch from welterweight to middleweight.

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