5 of the best UFC fights to take place in the UK

#4. Jorge Masvidal vs. Darren Till – UFC Fight Night 147

Jorge Masvidal's knockout of Darren Till turned him into an instant star

When Darren Till suddenly broke through as a potential star in late 2017 thanks to his knockout of longtime fan favorite Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone, it felt as if the UFC had stumbled upon its new poster-boy for the UK market.

Unsurprisingly, ‘The Gorilla’ was given a huge push, headlining the promotion’s first visit to his home city of Liverpool in a win over Stephen Thompson. Despite failing to win the welterweight title from Tyron Woodley in 2018, it seemed like 2019 would be a big year for him.

So it appeared to make plenty of sense when he was matched with Jorge Masvidal in the headline bout at the UFC’s first visit of the year to London. After all, while ‘Gamebred’ had long been considered an excellent fighter, he also hadn’t fought for well over a year prior to taking the bout.

When the fight came around, Masvidal had a different look entirely, having grown his hair and beard out. Early on, it didn’t appear to have helped him at all.

Literally as soon as the fight began, Till dropped him with a heavy left hand, seemingly knocking him senseless. Somehow, though, ‘Gamebred’ managed to survive and got to his feet. The two welterweights then continued to exchange strikes for the remainder of the round. While it was close to call, it appeared that ‘The Gorilla’ had the edge.

Incredibly, that didn’t last long. While Till continued to back Masvidal up during the early going in the second round, it was clear that ‘Gamebred’ was beginning to find his range. Just past the midway point, his work paid off.

He landed a heavy right hand on Till, seemingly from nowhere. He then followed with a coffin nail left hook that knocked ‘The Gorilla’ silly.

Not only was this a huge comeback win for Masvidal, but it was also one of the most brutal knockouts the UK had ever seen. It also basically turned ‘Gamebred’ into a star overnight, making it one of the most memorable fights to take place on British shores.

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#3. Carlos Condit vs. Dan Hardy – UFC 120

Carlos Condit's clash with Dan Hardy produced a truly insane finish

By late 2010, it was arguable that despite his failure to beat Georges St-Pierre for the UFC welterweight title, Dan Hardy had overtaken Michael Bisping when it came to being the promotion’s poster-boy in the UK.

‘The Outlaw’ had defeated the likes of Mike Swick and Marcus Davis in the octagon, and looked and acted every part the big superstar. When he was matched with Carlos Condit in the co-headline bout at UFC 120, then, it was hard not to be excited.

Condit, the former WEC welterweight champ, had already put on some wildly entertaining fights in the octagon. On paper at least, his match with Hardy appeared to guarantee fireworks. Thankfully, the clash lived up to all the hype.

In front of a sold-out crowd in London’s O2 Arena, the two welterweights went toe-to-toe from the off, with both men landing some telling blows. However, as the first round appeared to be coming to an end, there was one big bang yet to come.

At the end of another exchange, both Hardy and Condit threw left hooks at one another at exactly the same time – but ‘The Natural Born Killer’ got there first.

His punch sent ‘The Outlaw’ crashing to the mat. After following up with a couple of largely pointless additional shots, Condit had collected the biggest scalp of his MMA career.

The finish remains one of the most memorable in modern UFC history. While it largely signaled an end to Hardy’s run at the top of the division, it kickstarted Condit’s, as two fights later, he captured the interim welterweight title.