Oct 21, 2017; Gdansk, Poland; Darren Till (blue gloves) defeats Donald Cerrone (red gloves) during UFC Fight Night at Ergo Arena. Mandatory Credit: Per Haljestam-USA TODAY Sports
UFC 228 in Dallas has itself a main event. And Darren Till has cut in line (or ‘queue’ as the Liverpudlian would say) ahead of Colby Covington. Ariel Helwani reports that Tyron Woodley will defend his UFC Welterweight title against Till at UFC 228 on September 8th.
Additionally, Covington will reportedly be stripped of his interim title that he jwn last month as soon as the Woodley-Till fight happens. Covington is currently injured and would be ready to fight again in November or so.
This will be Woodley’s first title defense since injuring his shoulder against Demian Maia last summer, which required surgery. Till, meanwhile, most recently fought and beat Stephen Thompson in May. However, he came in at 174-pounds for that fight – he’ll have to be right on the button at 170 to be eligible to win the belt from Woodley. He also weighed in at 176-pound for a fight in May 2017.
Two takeaways from this announcement – first of all, the UFC proved what we’ve all been saying all along – interim titles are worthless. How else can you explain stripping Covington a month after winning the belt, unwilling to wait a few months for him to heal? Secondly, Woodley-Till is only happening because the organization was desperate to fill the headline slot at UFC 228 – once again, too many fight cards equals desperate moves.
UFC 228 goes down September 28th from the American Airlines Center in Dallas. It will also feature a UFC Women’s Flyweight Championship bout between champ Nicco Montano and Valentina Shevchenko.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
