5 best free-TV UFC shows of 2018

#2 UFC Fight Night 130: Thompson vs. Till – 05/27/2018

Darren Till's hometown victory over Stephen Thompson made Fight Night 130 special

The UFC’s first ever visit to Liverpool, England was guaranteed to have a hot crowd due to the presence of local favourite Darren Till in the main event.

The show wasn’t just about the crowd, though – the fans in attendance and the ones watching on TV were treated to some absolutely fantastic action with some violent finishes, including 4 of 6 on the main card.

We saw Darren Stewart violently take out Eric Spicely; Arnold Allen pick up a huge comeback victory over Mads Burnell with a last-ditch front choke; and Claudio Silva inexplicably return from four years on the shelf to submit Nordine Taleb with a first round rear naked choke.

But naturally, everyone in attendance was waiting for the entrance of one man – Till – and ‘The Gorilla’ delivered even in that sense, walking out to cult song Sweet Caroline and getting the Scouse fans singing along.

Some fans saw the fight between Till and Thompson as a dull point-fighting affair, but in reality it was a lot more than that – a tactical striking chess battle that saw Till refuse to play into the counter-striking hands – and feet – of ‘Wonderboy’ and instead come away with a tight decision victory following a fifth round knockdown.

The atmosphere throughout was fantastic and made this into a truly memorable show.