The 10 best UFC moments of 2018 so far

#9: Till wins in Liverpool

Darren Till outpointed Stephen Thompson in Liverpool

When the UFC announced that they’d be putting on their first show in Liverpool on May 27th – and the headliner would be hometown boy Darren Till taking on former Welterweight title challenger Stephen Thompson – everyone was excited to see how the Scouser would do under a huge spotlight.

It turned out that he’d be absolutely fine. With the crowd already emotionally charged thanks to Liverpool FC’s Champions League final loss the night before, Till walked to the cage to the sounds of Neil Diamond’s Sweet Caroline – providing a sing-along moment rarely seen in the UFC.

From there he went on to put on a very tight striking affair against ‘Wonderboy’ – usually Thompson’s realm, but this time the South Carolina native couldn’t uncork his usual pinpoint counter-striking due to the pressure of Till.

A knockdown in Till’s favor in the fifth round swung the fight for him, and although some fans disagreed with the decision, ‘The Gorilla’ ended up with his hand raised – and quickly became a cult hero to his fellow Scousers, even if his eventual title challenge didn’t go quite so well.