Donald Cerrone knows who Darren Till is now.
In terms of rankings, the match-up of two of the most entertaining welterweights in the UFC didn’t make a great deal of sense but fights aren’t fought in the rankings.
Liverpool’s Till was given the opportunity of a lifetime and there was no danger that he was going to let it slip through his fingertips.
The undefeated 170lber took on Cerrone in the main event of UFC Gdansk on Saturday night and needed less than five minutes to propel himself into superstardom.
Till, who hails from Walton, was a slight underdog for the bout but he backed up suggestions that he possesses some of the most precise striking in all of the UFC by rendering ‘Cowboy’ a defenceless heap inside the first round at the Ergo Arena.
DARREN TILL! The 24 year old Scouser just ran through Cowboy Cerrone. 170lbers on notice with that performance. #UFCGdansk pic.twitter.com/z9SnDXiGNX
— Ahmar Khan (@AhmarSKhan) October 21, 2017
There was massive respect between the fighters all week long and they enjoyed a friendly exchange before referee Marc Goddard instructed them to fight.
Then it was all business as Till took the centre of the Octagon and poured some early pressure on the sixth-ranked welterweight in the world.
A picture perfect 1-2 stunned Cerrone and, once he smelled blood, Till was relentless in his pursuit of the finish, which arrived with 40 seconds remaining in the first round.
We're starting to believe it @DarrenTill2! #UFCGdansk pic.twitter.com/OMipDIytZx
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) October 21, 2017
“I believe I’m the best fighter alive,” Till said in his post-fight interview. “I’ll say it time and time again and I fucking believe it. Trust me!”
When the contracts were signed for the fight, Cerrone had claimed that he didn’t know the first thing about Till.
He knows now.
