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Just when you think the Welterweight division may be starting to lack some contenders... Darren Till provides us with a monster upset over a savvy veteran.
It will be very interesting to see how Till fits into the current mix of Welterweights after seeing him dispatch a highly experienced veteran like Cowboy Cerrone in just a single round.
Main Card
Donald Cerrone vs Darren Till
Cowboy Cerrone shot in for a single leg takedown within the first thirty seconds as Till put the pressure on immediately. Cerrone was just trying to create distance for a majority of the first portion of the fight.
Cowboy hit a quick double-leg takedown when Till came in but Till bounced back up instantly. Till's striking was accurate and he was consistently catching Cowboy with the end of them. Until...
A beautiful one-two combination from Till stunned Cerrone. He smelt blood and unleashed an onslaught of punches, earning himself the biggest victory of his young undefeated career. He most likely also earned himself a spot in the top 10 as well.
Result: Darren Till def. Donald Cerrone via TKO (Punches) (Round 1, 4:20)
Karolina Kowalkiewicz vs Jodie Esquibel
The action started out quickly with each fighter attacking with "in and out" punch combos along with some front kicks. Towards the halfway point of the first round, Karolina began to look like a matador of sorts. She was landing the better shots clearly but Esquibel kept to her attack.
Karolina found great success with her clinch in the second round. She was relentless and Esquibel was absorbing damage at her will. Karolina got much more aggressive than we usually see her and she was landing with just about any combo she threw.
Karolina landed a beautiful takedown off a trip and wound up on Esquibel's back and threw up an armbar from behind. Time expired before she could potentially pull it off.
Round three was more of the same for Karolina who's jabs and straights were on point. Esquibel was moving well but her timing and lack of length weren't helping it make a difference.
Result: Karolina Kowalkiewicz def. Jodie Esquibel via Unanimous Decision (30-27 All)
Jan Blachowicz vs Devin Clark
The striker, Jan Blachowicz was actually the one to control the grappling exchanges at first. But it didn't last as he quickly began to work his kickboxing on the young, Clark. A big overhand from Clark actually stunned Blachowicz when breaking on a clinch encounter.
Clark's success towards the end of round one came mostly from his boxing while Blachowicz was utilizing his patented body kicks.
Clark charged Blachowicz to begin the second stanza and Blachowicz followed suit. One of the Blachowicz body kicks got through and visibly hurt Clark but he recovered very quickly and fired back with a straight right.
Clark winds up finding his takedown opportunity but Blachowicz defends it wonderfully and gets a takedown of his own. Clark escapes, gets eye-poked, referee Marc Goddard restarts the action, Clark attacks forward with a flurry into a takedown attempt and gets caught awkwardly in a standing rear naked choke.
Result: Jan Blachowicz def. Devin Clark via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) (Round 2, 2:02)
Oskar Piechota def. Jonathan Wilson via Unanimous Decision (30-27 All)
Preliminary Card
Marcin Held def. Nasrat Haqparast via Unanimous Decision (30-27 All)
Damian Stasiak vs Brian Kelleher
Kelleher and Stasiak threw down with very diverse arsenals in most of round one. No fear was shown and any strike they could think of was thrown. Kelleher came close to sinking in a guillotine towards the one minute mark but was unable to complete it.
Kelleher starts round two very aggressively, clearly looking for the finish. Stasiak looked a bit flustered at first but was able to counter and take Kelleher down momentarily. Kelleher began to have very good success with his knee strikes, whether in the clinch or when defending takedowns.
Kelleher's non-stop pressure and the constant attack was definitely the story of that second round.
Stasiak was able to negate Kelleher's gameplan much better in the third round. Each fighter was landing at will by the time the two-minute mark of round 3 landed, but in the end, it was Kelleher who landed the cleaner shots that ended up putting Stasiak away late.
Result: Brian Kelleher def. Damian Stasiak via TKO (Punches) (Round 3, 3:39)
Sam Alvey vs Ramazan Emeev
Patient approaches from each fighter led to tight and tactful striking attacks. There wasn't a lot of action outside of burst combos or single strikes from either. Emeev landed a drag down takedown towards the end of round one.
When Alvey was able to wall walk and get up, Emeev exploded a combo off that visibly stunned Alvey against the cage but Emeev pulled back enough to let Alvey survive the opening round.
Round two started similarly to how round one ended(minus the combo that hurt Alvey). As things went on, Alvey(who missed weight) started to slow down and breathe heavier. But he tried to get more aggressive as he surely was aware he may be running out of gas.
The referee ended up warning the fighters of hesitance towards the end of the timeframe.
Emeev's pressure and ability to smother Alvey played a big part in the fight but mostly in the third. When he wasn't pressuring, there wasn't much going on.
Result: Ramazan Emeev def. Sam Alvey via Unanimous Decision (30-27 All)
Artem Lobov vs Andre Fili
Fili utilized his reach, movement, and speed perfectly early on forcing Lobov to search for his shots as he chased. Soon, Lobov began to show the effects of Fili's attack as his face started to leak blood. Lobov's best strikes throughout the round actually happened to be his body kicks which were surely something that most didn't expect as he's primarily a puncher.
Twenty seconds left in round one and Fili lands a massive head kick that drops Lobov and nearly finishes the fight but Lobov somehow survives. A dominant round for Fili.
Fili continued to execute his gameplan greatly as round two pressed on, attacking while circling out of Lobov's shorter range constantly. Lobov began to land better towards the back end of the round until Fili hit a nice double leg takedown. Another round in the books for Fili.
An interesting note, Lobov was being warned by the referee due to Conor McGregor giving corner advice when he wasn't officially in Lobov's corner(which is illegal, fighters are only allowed three cornermen per corner).
The fight continues with more of the same except Fili hits a takedown within the first minute this time. Lobov attacked with an ankle lock from the bottom which helped him escape from the bottom. As things got back to the feet, Fili hit another double leg takedown. But again, rinse and repeat with another ankle lock attempt forcing the fight back to the feet followed by another successful double leg from Fili.
And if you can believe it...the sequence happens for a third and final time as Fili is able to keep Lobov down for the time that remained.
Result: Andre Fili def. Artem Lobov via Unanimous Decision (30-27 All)
Salim Touahri vs Warlley Alves
The fight started out with each men looking to start things off with power strikes accompanied by a brief clinch engagement in between. Alves' varied attack kept Touahri guessing throughout.
Despite Touahri's struggle in the first round, he didn't shy away from getting into heavy striking exchanges in round two. Touahri landed most of his strikes to the body whereas Alves had a much more mixed attack.
Round three saw each fighter picking their shots more than in the previous two. Towards the end of the round, Conor McGregor entered the arena to find his seat before Artem Lobov's fight later on. It's incredible how one man can completely steal the fan's attention away from two people trying to hurt each other...or maybe it just shows that the fight wasn't that great...? You be the judge.
Result: Warlley Alves def. Salim Touahri via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Lina Lansberg vs Aspen Ladd
Ladd forced her game on Lansberg instantly by pushing forward and quickly trapping Lansberg against the cage which is where the whole round took place. Each fighter traded knees and jockeyed for position, but as the round went on Lansberg began to get the better of the clinch battle with her non-stop knee attack.
Round two began with Ladd continuing her pressure. Lansberg landed several good strikes until Ladd went for the takedown.Lansberg found herself stuck under Ladd's mount leading to a barrage of strong ground and pound forcing the finish.
Result: Aspen Ladd def. Lina Lansberg via TKO (Ground and Pound Punches) (Round 2, 2:33)
Josh Emmett def. Felipe Arantes via Unanimous Decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-25)
