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UFC Fight Night: Derek Brunson vs. Darren Till was a UFC event for the UK in all but its Las Vegas location. Fans from Liverpool, in particular, would’ve been pretty happy.
Sure, Darren Till failed to pick up a win in the main event, but for other UK fighters, this UFC Fight Night turned out to be excellent.
With a number of fighters looking to climb the ladder – either into UFC title contention or simply into a more favorable spot on the roster – this was a pivotal event for many.
So with that in mind, here are the five biggest winners from UFC Fight Night: Derek Brunson vs. Darren Till.
#5. Alex Morono – defeated David Zawada in a UFC welterweight bout
Alex Morono was the only winner on last night’s main card not to pick up a finish. In that sense, it was a disappointing night for ‘The Great White.’ However, not labeling him one of the night’s big winners would be a tremendous disservice.
Morono was coming off the biggest win of his UFC career over Donald Cerrone. With a somewhat underrated UFC record – 7-4-1 – this was his chance to prove that he belonged in the upper echelon.
In many ways, he was in a no-win situation of sorts. His opponent David Zawada had just one UFC win to his name, meaning anything less than a victory for Morono would be a massive disappointment.
However, ‘The Great White’ was largely impressive, out-striking his sloppier German opponent to pick up a clear-cut unanimous decision win. It was a fight that, realistically, saw Zawada simply find no avenue to a potential victory.
With that considered, while Morono didn’t pick up a finish, it was still an impressive showing from him. He might not make the top ten any time soon, but he’s clearly a tough out for anyone in the welterweight division. He also probably sent Zawada packing from the promotion last night.
Who’s next for him? Welterweight is so loaded that you could pick any opponent and it’d work. A fighter in the bottom end of the top fifteen – Arman Tsarukyan or Thiago Moises – would work best.
#4. Khalil Rountree – defeated Modestas Bukauskas in a UFC light-heavyweight bout
One fighter who almost certainly had his back to the wall last night was Khalil Rountree. ‘The War Horse’ had lost his previous two fights and was just 1-3 in his last four, meaning a third loss likely would’ve seen him cut from the UFC.
However, Rountree basically saved his UFC career with one of the most brutal finishes in recent memory. He put Modestas Bukauskas away in the second round. It was probably Rountree’s best showing since his big knockout of Gokhan Saki back in 2018.
The veteran of TUF came out far more aggressively than we’d seen him previously, and he had Bukauskas on the back foot from the off. The first round saw ‘The Baltic Gladiator’ suffer a badly broken nose, but if he thought that was bad, worse was to come.
With Bukauskas’ leg already beaten up, Rountree delivered a vicious oblique kick that folded his knee in at the side. This caused ‘The Baltic Gladiator’ to outright scream in pain as the fight was stopped.
The kick may be questioned from a moral standpoint, but there’s no denying its effectiveness and brutality. It likely rescued Rountree’s UFC career, making him a huge winner.
#3. Paddy Pimblett – defeated Luigi Vendramini in his UFC debut
After describing himself as the best signing of the decade and the UFC’s new cash cow, there must’ve been plenty of pressure on Paddy Pimblett coming into his octagon debut last night.
But despite some sticky moments, ‘The Baddy’ came through big time and impressed hugely in his first trip to the octagon. He took out Luigi Vendramini in impressive fashion.
Early on, it looked like Pimblett could be in some trouble. Holding his hands worryingly low, he was tagged by multiple big shots from Vendramini.
But ‘The Baddy’ was never outright hurt. As the round ticked on, he found his range and then opened up with an absolutely savage flurry that had ‘The Italian Stallion’ reeling and eventually sent him crashing down.
If that wasn’t enough to turn Pimblett into a star, his post-fight interview with Michael Bisping almost certainly was. It saw him demand that the UFC go back to the UK with him in the main event or co-main event.
Whether Pimblett can reach the top of the UFC, emulating Bisping and Conor McGregor, is another thing entirely, but for now this was an excellent start for him.
#2. Tom Aspinall – defeated Sergey Spivak in UFC Fight Night co-main event
Tom Aspinall came into last night’s event with the reputation as arguably the hottest prospect in the UFC heavyweight division. He certainly didn’t disappoint.
Faced with a late replacement opponent in the form of Sergey Spivak, Aspinall wasted no time and put the Moldovan away in violent fashion halfway through the first round.
It was enough to earn the native of Liverpool his fourth UFC win and fourth finish. It also earned him an extra $50k bonus, clearly making his weekend judging by his reaction.
So how far can Aspinall go in the UFC? On the evidence we’ve seen so far, the sky is the limit. He’s got the size and power to mix it with the biggest fighters in the division. He’s also a much smoother fighter than some give him credit for, with excellent technique in all areas.
The elbow he finished Spivak with last night, for example, could have come right from the playbook of current UFC interim heavyweight champ Ciryl Gane. 'Bon Gamin' ended the night of Junior Dos Santos with a similar move in 2020.
Aspinall was ranked at #13 going into last night’s event and should find himself moving up the ladder come next week. It’s time to move this prospect into title contention because, judging by this, he’s definitely for real.
#1. Derek Brunson – defeated Darren Till in UFC Fight Night main event
Coming into last night’s main event, the majority of the focus was on Darren Till. Sure, he was coming off a loss while Derek Brunson was on a four-fight win streak, but UFC middleweight champ Israel Adesanya had outright labeled ‘The Gorilla’ a potential challenger for his crown.
After last night though, the momentum now lies with Brunson. He simply whitewashed Till, using his superior size and wrestling to ground the British fighter before beating him down.
Till did well to survive the onslaught in the first two rounds, by the third he was clearly fading. Brunson took him down, passed to full mount, and then took his back and choked him out.
Brunson may have a slight issue when it comes to gaining a title shot; he already has a loss to Adesanya and current top contender Robert Whittaker.
But when he’s on a five-fight win streak and can perform like this, it’d also be unfair to deny him some kind of opportunity. A top contender’s bout with Jared Cannonier then – preferably on the same card as Adesanya vs. Whittaker – would work best.
Either way, Brunson was undoubtedly last night’s biggest winner.
