In one of the most highly anticipated bouts of the summer, Liverpool's own Darren Till faced one of the toughest tests of his UFC career, taking on former UFC Middleweight champion, Robert Whittaker.
Till, who'd only fought in the UFC's Middleweight division just once - a decision victory over Kelvin Gastelum back in November - was handed a huge opportunity against former champion Whittaker to prove the move up to the Middleweight division was the right one to make.
In a fight many expected to be an all-out war, the two engaged in a much more tactical battle, one which the Australian came out on top of after 25 minutes.
While the Englishman failed to emerge victorious from the fight, he did more than enough to prove he belongs among the Middleweight division's elite. Till stood toe to toe with the former champion and, for the most part, looked just as impressive as Whittaker.
The former Welterweight contender started the fight strongly, dropping Whittaker with an elbow in the first round and holding his own, but after a knee-stomp tore the Englishman's MCL in the second round, the momentum switched dramatically and the Reaper began to find his feet. In truth, Till's biggest downfall was his reluctance to really push forward and take the fight to his opponent, with the Gorilla only out striking Whittaker in the opening five minutes.
There were a number of moments throughout the fight where the striker had the opportunity to take advantage of the openings Whittaker's movement left for him, but he failed to do so as he was far too cautious of being caught himself.
That being said, Till again showed signs of life in the final round, busting the Reaper's head open late on, but it was too little too late and the Englishman lost a close decision with all three judges scoring it 48-47 in Whittaker's favour.
Having struggled with weight cutting during his time in the Welterweight division, the Middleweight division is much more suited to a man of Till's stature and it's evident to see. The Gorilla's chin looks better than ever, having taken a number of huge shots from Whittaker, with only a solid overhand right knocking him down early in round two.
At just 27 years old, and with the weight cut issues hopefully a thing of the past, a close loss to the former champion will be a huge learning curve for Till and a future at 180lbs promises to be an incredibly successful one.
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