UFC 228: What happened when Darren Till challenged Tyron Woodley for the UFC Welterweight title?
The Welterweight Championship was on the line in the main event of UFC 228, held in Dallas, Texas on 8th September, 2018. The crowd was hot in anticipation of a potential title change as Darren Till was riding a wave of momentum and Tyron Woodley had something to prove after a less than inspiring victory over Demian Maia at UFC 214.
Woodley delivered an incredible performance as he battered the previously undefeated and very dangerous Till inside two rounds. Woodley completely dominated the second round and forced the submission to retain the gold. Woodley demonstrated that he was far from washed up with this memorable victory.
The co-main event saw a Women's Strawweight encounter between Jessica Andrade and Karolina Kowalkiewicz which was effectively a number one contender bout to set up the next opponent for then champion, Rose Namajunas.
This one did not last long as Andrade swarmed Kowalkiewicz from the outset with a big onslaught of punches before she caught her with a brutal right hook. That was the knockout win.
John Rivera had tasted defeat just three months earlier but returned to the Octagon to take on John Dodson in the Bantamweight division. Rivera bounced back with a dominating performance in which he was the aggressor across all three rounds. Therefore it was an easy decision for the judges who scored the bout 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28.
Zabit Magomedsharipov faced Brandon Davis, who was a late replacement for Yair Rodriguez. That would have been an exciting fight but the Zabit/Davis collision was actually pretty entertaining for two rounds. Davis showed great heart to hang with his dangerously skillful opponent. The finish came in the second round when Zabit locked in an unusual choke, which was a combination of kneebar and a hamstring stretch. Davis wasn't left with a choice but to submit.
Abdul Razak Alhassan smashed Niko Price to pieces and knocked him out within 40 seconds in a demolition job of incredible proportions. Quick and nasty.
UFC 228 was a decent show, highlighted by one of Tyrone Woodley's best performances in years. It was only a mild success on pay per view however, attracting a disappointing 130,000 buys.