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A rare UFC show with a distinctly European flavor, UFC Fight Night: Derek Brunson vs. Darren Till turned out to be a lot of fun.
This UFC Fight Night event had plenty of stellar finishes, with knockouts and submissions up and down the card and just four fights going the distance.
Will it prove to be one of the UFC’s most memorable events of 2021? Probably not, but for a handful of fighters, it provided moments that will never be forgotten.
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Here are the five most explosive moments from UFC Fight Night: Derek Brunson vs. Darren Till.
#5. Julian Erosa produces a slick moment to get back into the UFC’s winners circle
Julian Erosa has had a mixed time in the UFC across his two stints with the promotion. He needed a win last night following a bad loss in his previous fight in June.
Midway through the contest, it didn't look like he'd get it. He might've edged a tight first round against opponent Charles Jourdain, but the second round clearly went to 'Air.' He hurt Erosa with his strikes on more than one occasion and dropped 'Juicy J' with a right hand late in the stanza.
But Erosa managed to survive. In the third round, when the two men tied up on the ground, 'Juicy J' surprised his opponent by latching onto a D'Arce choke.
Jourdain attempted to roll free from the hold, but Erosa’s grip looked seriously tight. ‘Air’ was forced to tap out before he fell unconscious.
The D’Arce is one of the prettier submissions seen in the UFC, but unfortunately – as the grappling level of fighters in the octagon increases – it has become quite rare. So to see Erosa pull one off and complete quite the comeback was pretty excellent.
He didn’t win a $50k bonus from the UFC for his efforts, as admittedly, there were more high-level finishes on offer last night. Even so, this was definitely one of the night’s more memorable moments.
#4. Derek Brunson thoroughly shuts down Darren Till in the headliner
Last night’s UFC main event between Derek Brunson and Darren Till was a highly anticipated bout. But despite Till hoping to cement himself as a title contender with a win, it was Brunson who ended up winning in a largely one-sided fashion.
Early on, it looked like ‘The Gorilla’ had the edge thanks to his speed and striking skill. However, once Brunson began to fire takedowns at him, Till didn’t have many answers.
Despite his best efforts, the native of Liverpool simply couldn’t handle being taken down and bullied by a larger man.
We saw a similar scenario unfold in Brunson’s last fight, as he edged a decision win over Kevin Holland. This time, however, the veteran clearly came to finish.
After taking Till down in the third round, he passed into full mount and forced ‘The Gorilla’ to give his back. He then slapped on a tight rear-naked choke to force the submission.
This wasn’t a traditionally explosive finish – particularly not by Brunson’s standards – but it was highly impressive nonetheless.
Brunson may need another win before a shot at Israel Adesanya, but this was still an excellent victory for him.
#3. Tom Aspinall shows why he’s the UFC heavyweight division’s hottest prospect
Coming into last night’s show, Tom Aspinall had garnered plenty of hype as the UFC heavyweight division’s hottest prospect. With three UFC wins and three finishes to his name, it was easy to see why.
Aspinall was initially pegged to fight Sergei Pavlovich at last night’s show, but a late switch saw him face Sergey Spivak instead. Not that this change ended up mattering at all to the Liverpool native.
Aspinall simply looked too aggressive and too heavy-hitting for his Moldovan opponent. It didn’t take long for him to find a fourth nasty finish in the octagon.
Spivak attempted a takedown, only for Aspinall to stop him dead and then level him with a crushing elbow to the head. Aspinall quickly pounced for the finish, and unsurprisingly, Spivak simply couldn’t recover before the fight was stopped.
Aspinall came into this fight ranked at #13, but he’ll surely move upwards after a performance like this. Given the nature of the division, he could find himself in title contention sooner rather than later.
#2. Paddy Pimblett debuts in the UFC in style
Thanks to his charismatic nature and ability on the microphone, the UFC debut of Paddy Pimblett had quickly become one of the weekend's biggest talking points.
Thankfully, Pimblett proved that he could back up his big words with his fighting ability, although it didn't come easy for 'The Baddy.'
His opponent Luigi Vendramini took the fight to the Liverpool native early on, tagging him with several heavy punches. It looked like Pimblett was simply holding his chin too high, and it was only a matter of time before it cost him.
However, 'The Baddy' somehow absorbed everything thrown at him – and then quickly exploded with a flurry out of nowhere that had Vendramini reeling.
The Brazilian attempted to survive, but Pimblett just wouldn't let up and continued to throw a barrage of punches at Vendramini. The Brazilian soon wilted under the relentless pressure.
Was this a flawless performance from 'The Baddy?' Not quite, but at the end of the day, if you're winning, it doesn't matter, and Pimblett won in style last night – making himself $50k richer in the process.
#1. Khalil Rountree produces one of the most brutal low kick stoppages in UFC history
While Paddy Pimblett produced the most memorable moment of last night's show and Derek Brunson probably picked up the biggest win, the most explosive – and brutal – moment belonged to Khalil Rountree.
The heavy hitter came into his clash with Modestas Bukauskas looking more aggressive than we'd seen in some time. He hunted his opponent down with heavy strikes and backed him up from the word go.
Bukauskas tried to fire back, but he looked outgunned and found himself hurt on more than one occasion in the first round. One right hand seemingly broke his nose badly.
Unfortunately for 'The Baltic Gladiator,' far worse was to come.
By the second round, Rountree had already landed a number of nasty kicks to Bukauskas' left leg, leaving it marked up on the upper thigh. But nobody could've expected him to throw arguably the most brutal low kick we'd ever seen in UFC history to end the fight.
This wasn’t a regular, thudding leg kick. It was, in fact, the dreaded oblique kick. Rountree fired downwards into the side of Bukauskas’ knee, causing it to buckle instantly and forcing ‘The Baltic Gladiator’ to cry out in pain.
The morality of using this move has been questioned numerous times in the UFC. There is no doubt that conversation will begin again following this finish. However, regardless of that, it’s hard to deny that this was last night’s most explosive moment overall.
