All three judges controversially scored the fight 48-47, 49-46, 49-46 in favour of Till
Sunday 27 May 2018 21:41, UK
Darren Till battled his way to a unanimous decision victory over Stephen Thompson in Liverpool on Sunday night.
Till (17-0-1) was fighting in front of a hometown crowd for the first time in his career and spent all five rounds on his feet as both fighters refused to take the contest to the mat.
The 25-year-old Merseysider edged an evenly matched and technical welterweight encounter at Liverpool's Echo Arena, crucially knocking Thompson (14-2-2) down with a big left hand in the final round.
Judges scored the bout 48-47 49-46 49-46 in Till's favour, leaving him unbeaten in 18 MMA contests, including six in the UFC.
Both fighters were reluctant to commit to any strikes with power in the opening two rounds with Thompson producing the cleaner punches.
Till successfully began to implement low leg kicks in the third restricting his opponent's superior movement and came on strong towards the end of the fight.
The Liverpudlian's knockdown in the final round and aggressive style tipped the judges' scorecards, controversially, in his favour.
"I know Stephen thinks I'm an aggressive fighter, I am," Till told Fox Sports after the fight.
"I've never thought a striker like that. Who is doubting me now? No one! I'm not scared of anyone."
Till's victory over the UFC's number one welterweight contender could put him contention for a title fight against Tyron Woodley.
However, the result doesn't come without controversy after the Englishman missed the pre-fight weigh-in of 171lbs on Friday.
