5 fights for Darren Till to take next
Darren Till suffered a brutal loss at the hands of Derek Brunson last Saturday. His inability to prevent takedowns proved costly. Brunson dominated on the ground before submitting 'The Gorilla' in the third round.
The loss seemed particularly crushing for fans of Darren Till; the Liverpudlian was the favorite going into the bout. He also seemed a good win away from securing a title shot. Instead, he has now lost four of his last five and may no longer be considered among the UFC's elite.
It will now be fascinating to see who the UFC chooses to match up against Darren Till next. While an opponent lower down the rankings seems likely, just how much of a step down remains to be seen.
It could be that the UFC chooses to continue to place him in big-name fights, given his popularity. 'The Gorilla' has a massive fanbase, so pitting him against almost any ranked middleweight would instantly produce a contest big enough to main event a fight night.
However, with Till still relatively young at just 28-years-old, perhaps the UFC will opt for a more significant rebuild. It's not unthinkable that the promotion might give him an unranked opponent next. This would allow the English native to regain his confidence and develop the skills he needs to compete at the top of the division.
#5. Marvin Vettori vs. Darren Till
Marvin Vettori vs. Darren Till is a big-time fight, but that might be the same reason it doesn't happen next. Another significant factor with this potential match-up is that 'The Italian Dream' is currently scheduled to face Paulo Costa in the main event of UFC's Fight Night on October 23.
If that bout goes ahead and Vettori wins, it would be safe to assume that he will not be Till's next opponent. In that scenario, the Italian returns to title contention, the opposite direction from Till's current trajectory.
However, if Vettori were to lose, particularly in a one-sided fashion, the UFC may end up pairing these two together. It wouldn't be the first time either. Their scheduled bout on April 10 fell through after Till broke his collarbone.
A fight against Vettori would allow Till plenty of time off to work on the flaws Derek Brunson exposed. It would also be a high-profile bout. There was plenty of hype surrounding these two when they were supposed to fight earlier this year.
The negative for this bout is that it could conceivably go similarly to the Brunson fight for Darren Till. Vettori is an excellent wrestler. Unless 'The Gorilla' can make significant progress against this type of opponent, he could find himself in an even worse position and on a three-fight losing streak.