Ariel Helwani is reporting that a Darren Till v Stephen Thompson fight is close to being announced to headline on May 27th when the UFC comes to Liverpool. Till v Thompson was first talked about after Till demolished Donald Cerrone in October of 2017. The UFC is building the Liverpool show around Till (16-0-1) and the question was would it be a showcase fight for Till or a fight with real title implications, if he does indeed square off against Thompson, it would obviously be the latter.
The likes of fellow Brit Leon Edwards and Kamaru Usman have been lobbying for the headline fight with Till, but if Helwani is correct, it looks like ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson has got the fight.
Thompson (14-2-1) is a former two-time UFC title challenger, he drew with Tyron Woodley in November 2016 but lost the rematch in March the following year. Thompson last fought in November last year earning a unanimous points win over Jorge Masvidal. To earn another chance at the title Thompson will probably need a new champion as the UFC are unlikely to grant him a 3rd crack at Woodley, or he has to one by one beat all the legitimate contenders, Till being one.
If the fight does indeed come to fruition, Till gets a chance to maybe find himself at number 1 or 2 in the rankings if he beats Thompson and knocking right at the door of a title shot. A win for Thompson pushes him a little closer to that elusive 3rd try at UFC gold, although the likes of Colby Covington and Rafael Dos Anjos who are also rumoured to be fighting for the Interim title, would make that later rather than sooner for Thompson.
UFC WELTERWEIGHT RANKINGS:
C Tyron Woodley 18-3-1
1 Stephen Thompson 14-2-1
2 Rafael Dos Anjos 28-9-0
3 Colby Covington 13-1-0
4 Robbie Lawler 28-12-0
5 Demian Maia 25-8-0
6 Jorge Masvidal 32-13-0
7 Darren Till 16-0-1
7 Kamaru Usman 12-1-0
9 Neil Magny 20-7-0
10 Santiago Ponzinibbio 27-3-0
11 Donald Cerrone 33-10-0
12 Carlos Condit 30-11-0
13 Gunnar Nelson 16-3-1
14 Leon Edwards 15-3-0
15 Dong Hyun Kim 22-4-1
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