Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Take a look inside Tom Aspinall’s TKO win over Serghei Spivac in the UFC Fight Night 191 co-main event in Las Vegas.
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LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] beat Serghei Spivac with a first-round TKO Saturday in the UFC Fight Night 191 co-main event in Las Vegas.
Take a look inside the fight with Aspinall, who picked up his seventh straight win.
Derek Brunson gave some advice to Darren Till after tapping out the Brit in the UFC Fight Night 191 main event.
LAS VEGAS – It was all business for [autotag]Derek Brunson[/autotag] against [autotag]Darren Till[/autotag] in the UFC Fight Night 191 main event.
Because of that, Brunson (23-7 MMA, 14-5 UFC), who earned a third-round submission over Till (18-4-1 MMA, 6-4-1 UFC) at the UFC Apex, said he’s able to speak openly about his most recent opponent in the fallout of the middleweight contender bout.
Takedowns and grappling were the key to victory for Brunson, who extended his winning streak to five fights with his performance. Till was unable to keep from bottom position for long periods, and Brunson was able to wear him down before locking in a rear-naked choke to force the tap.
Afterward, Brunson sympathized with Till’s loss.
“I feel bad for Till,” Brunson told MMA Junkie and other media at the UFC Fight Night 191 post-fight news conference. “I really like the guy. I think he thinks he’s like a badass kid who says edgy things on Twitter or Instagram, but I think overall he’s like a good person. He’s really, really, really funny.
“I think the guy can put it together. It’s just small things. He’s really explosive, really good on the feet. He has really good feints, very confident. It’s just the small things he has to address – maybe even thinking about 170, or just fine-tuning some of the wrestling things that are defensive. If he’s able to keep it on the feet, he can do a lot better.”
Till is still just 28, so he likely has much more time in the sport remaining than the 37-year-old Brunson. That experience was an advantage for him in the matchup, Brunson said, because he knows what it’s like to go through bad times. He’s optimistic for Till’s future, though, and thinks working on his wrestling is a must.
“His takedown defense was OK,” Brunson said. “I’ve got good finishes with the chain wrestling. I can’t say his takedown defense was really bad, I just chain the attempts together (and) attacks really good. I know what it takes to take somebody down. There’s some things he can look back and improve on. Get back and work on those things and be better for his fights going forward.”
Despite Till being 1-4 in his past five fights, Brunson doesn’t think the Brit is unworthy as a middleweight contender. Brunson spoke highly of him, in fact, and has argued beating Till should secure a title shot against the Israel Adesanya vs. Robert Whittaker winner.
“He’s as good as some of the other guys,” Brunson said. “Him and Whittaker had a pretty decently close fight. He dropped Robert Whittaker in their fight. It went five rounds and nobody got finished there. I was able to impose my will and get the finish. So you’ve got take something from that fact that Whittaker’s fighting for a title and his last fight was against Whittaker and it went five rounds and he had some good moments in that fight.”
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Darren Till appears to motivated by his loss to Derek Brunson in the UFC Fight Night 191 main event.
[autotag]Darren Till[/autotag] appears to motivated by his loss to Derek Brunson in the UFC Fight Night 191 main event.
Till (18-4-1 MMA, 6-4-1 UFC) was submitted by Brunson (23-7 MMA, 14-5 UFC) in the third round of the middleweight contender matchup at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, extending a rough stretch for the 28-year-old.
With just one victory in his past five fights dating back to when he challenged Tyron Woodley for a UFC title in September 2018, there are going to be many questions around Till’s future in the aftermath of this latest result.
Till did not speak in the octagon after the fight or at the post-fight press conference. His first message about the bout was clear, despite him not using any words.
He simply posted two photos: One of Michael Bisping with the UFC middleweight title, as well as another of current lightweight champion Charles Oliveira. The underlying message is that Till is willing to take the long road to the belt, just as Bisping and Oliveira did (via Instagram):
https://www.instagram.com/p/CTaxJW1pFHD
Till struggled to find prolonged offensive effectiveness in the fight with Brunson. His takedown defense failed him in trying to keep the fight standing, and when he was on the ground had no response to Brunson’s top control and eventual submission attempt.
Now it remains to be seen what comes next for “The Gorilla.”
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Israel Adesanya doesn’t seem too interested in the idea of a rematch with Derek Brunson.
The UFC middleweight champion heard his name called and responded dismissively.
Following his third-round submission victory over Darren Till in the main event of UFC Fight Night 191, [autotag]Derek Brunson[/autotag] ran to the nearest camera and called out the champ [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag] for a rematch from their first meeting at UFC 230.
Adesanya, who is always quick to reply when mentioned, responded to the message with a short statement via Twitter:
Calm down…boy.
You still a bum…son. pic.twitter.com/8LymB7PLm3— Israel Adesanya (@stylebender) September 4, 2021
Calm down…boy.
You still a bum…son.
Adesanya used a play on words with Brunson’s last name in his response, a not-so-subtle touch to his dismissive response. In the tweet, Adesanya included a video of Brunson’s message with the overlaid text that reads, “…remember the last time he called me ‘boy.'”
The pair met at UFC 230 in November 2018, where Adesanya finished Brunson by a first-round TKO after the wrestler was unable to get the fight to the canvas. Adesanya would go on to claim the middleweight title three fights later by defeating Robert Whittaker at UFC 243.
Since then, however, Brunson has made significant strides in his game after changing camps. He has rattled off five straight wins and believes he’s ready for another crack at the champ.
Adesanya is coming off his third title defense, defeating Marvin Vettori via unanimous decision at UFC 263. Despite Brunson’s recent surge, the champ doesn’t seem too interested in the idea of the rematch.
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Derek Brunson wants his opportunity to challenge for the middleweight title after his main event win over Darren Till at UFC Fight Night 191.
LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Derek Brunson[/autotag] wants his opportunity to challenge for the middleweight title after his main event win over Darren Till at UFC Fight Night 191.
Brunson (23-7 MMA, 14-5 UFC) earned a third-round submission of Till (18-4-1 MMA, 6-4-1 UFC) in Saturday’s headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, giving him five consecutive victories since he met Israel Adesanya at UFC 230 in November 2018.
A title shot has been on Brunson’s mind for a long time now, but he’s never been able to string together the right performances. That’s until now. He thinks he’s done enough, but with current champ Adesanya and Robert Whittaker tentatively targeted for an early 2022 date, it could be some time until Brunson’s opportunity materializes.
Brunson is already hearing the noise that he should stay active and fight [autotag]Jared Cannonier[/autotag] (14-5 MMA, 7-5 UFC) in a true title eliminator. He didn’t completely shut down that suggestion but said he’s going to push to fight for the belt first.
“I can use a tune-up with one of the Jake Paul brothers or something like that,” Brunson told MMA Junkie and other reporters at the UFC Fight Night 191 post-fight news conference. “Maybe Dana White can loan me to the Triller to fight one of those guys, or maybe I can wait until Israel and Whittaker fight early next year and we can fight in March or April. We have some options. Cannonier isn’t completely off the table, but I’ve been adamant about asking for the toughest guys in the division. I asked for Paulo Costa, the UFC sent him a contract and he didn’t sign it. If I would’ve got that fight I would’ve been definitely next for the title. I’m doing all this work. I want to be rewarded. I’ve never got a title shot in my career.”
Brunson was soundly defeated by Adesanya when they first fought. His early takedowns were stuffed, and Adesanya teed off on him for a first-round TKO.
Now older and wiser, Brunson thinks a rematch against “The Last Stylebender” would play out differently. He admits his striking wasn’t particularly sharp against Till, but said he came into the fight with an injured rib and would hopefully have more weapons available in a championship fight scenario.
“Just really taking my time (would be the difference in an Adesanya rematch),” Brunson said. “This camp wasn’t as sharp as I wanted to be with my stand up. My stand up is better than I was able to show tonight. I was able to get a few things off on the feet, with an uppercut. I saw some openings, but I was injured for the last three weeks of this camp, so I think with that time to spar and prepare my stand up looks really good and I can pose a threat to Izzy on the feet, and definitely on the ground.”
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Paddy Pimblett’s spectacular debut finish was among four bonus-earning performances on Saturday.
The UFC handed out four post-fight bonuses after Saturday’s card, including two individual performances and an incredible back-and-forth scrap in the women’s flyweight division.
UFC Fight Night 191 took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Check out the $50,000 winners below.
Derek Brunson impressed with a third-round finish of Darren Till in the main event of UFC Fight Night 191 in Las Vegas.
Derek Brunson’s wrestling continues to prove problematic for top UFC middleweights.
At UFC Fight Night 191, Brunson (23-7 MMA, 14-5 UFC) took on Darren Till in an important matchup for the division. The middleweight bout served as the main event which took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. It streamed on ESPN+.
Till (18-4-1 MMA, 6-4-1 UFC) crowded Brunson early in the first, putting the pressure on with strikes upstairs. “Let’s go Darren,” chants began from the small crowd in attendance. The biggest question coming into the fight was how long could Till keep the fight standing.
Brunson answered that question by completing his first takedown with plenty of time remaining in the first round. After securing a dominant position on top, Brunson postured up and began unloading hard punches while Till covered up and tried to escape from the bottom.
Brunson in on the takedown and GnP early! #UFCVegas36 pic.twitter.com/B60UTedlbd
— UFC (@ufc) September 4, 2021
Brunson remained heavy on top and continued to find space to land heavy punches. With a minute remaining, Till was able to push off and get the fight back to standing for the remainder of the round.
Till would defend the first and second takedown attempts in the second round, but the third from Brunson was successful midway through.
The grappling from Brunson is an issue through round 2️⃣. #UFCVegas36 pic.twitter.com/EEwXgtPnRv
— UFC (@ufc) September 4, 2021
Staying heavy from half guard, Brunson kept the pressure high while looking for room to land strikes as Till held on tightly. The pair returned to the feet in the clinch with just a few seconds remaining in the round.
Till let his hands go a little more frequently to start the third round and also added a few hard leg kicks to the mix. He was also able to avoid clinching from Brunson early and appeared to have Brunson in trouble after landing a few punches. However, that didn’t stop the wrestler from completing a takedown that would spell the end of the fight.
After getting the fight to the canvas one last time, Brunson ended up in mount, transitioned to Till’s back, and locked in a rear-naked choke to get the tap.
DOMINATION 😳
💢 @DerekBrunson calls for a rematch with the champ after submitting Till. #UFCVegas36 pic.twitter.com/0q8dzG2z2u
— UFC (@ufc) September 4, 2021
Brunson improves to five straight wins on his current streak, matching his previous best run in the UFC from 2014-2016. During his post-fight interview, he called for the middleweight champion Israel Adesanya to start mentioning his name for a rematch. Brunson also said he wouldn’t mind waiting around for the winner of the next title fight.
Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 191 results include:
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See the top Twitter reactions to Derek Brunson’s submission win over Darren Till in the UFC Fight Night 191 main event.
[autotag]Derek Brunson[/autotag] inched even closer to a middleweight title shot when he defeated [autotag]Darren Till[/autotag] in Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 191 main event.
Brunson (23-7 MMA, 14-5 UFC) extended his winning streak to five fights when he outworked and out-grappled Till (18-4-1 MMA, 6-4-1 UFC) to a third-round submission win in the event headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
Check below for the top Twitter reactions to Brunson’s victory over Till at UFC Fight Night 191.
Khalil Rountree produced a first in octagon history with his leg kick TKO of Modestas Bukauskas at UFC Fight Night 191.
[autotag]Khalil Rountree[/autotag] produced a first in UFC history on Saturday in his brutal TKO win over [autotag]Modestas Bukauskas[/autotag].
During a main card bout at UFC Fight Night 191 from the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Rountree (9-5 MMA, 5-5 UFC) landed a vicious knee stomp to the left leg of Bukauskas (11-5 MMA, 1-3 UFC) that caused him to immediately fall to the ground, screaming in agony.
The time of the stoppage was the TIME mark of Round 2, giving Rountree a much-needed win after back-to-back losses. There have been plenty of leg kick TKOs over the course of UFC history, but Rountree’s side stomp is unlike any finish prior.
Watch the video below to see the highlight of Rountree’s finish (via Twitter):
It's over! Khalil Rountree is VICIOUS with the side kick 😨 #UFCVegas36 pic.twitter.com/rw4MBgZZxv
— UFC Canada (@UFC_CA) September 4, 2021
Rountree said he worked on the technique that finished Bukauskas during training camp, and he landed it in the fight with bad intentions behind him.
“I didn’t work it in training camp with the intent that I had and threw it with today, because I don’t want to hurt my training partners,” Rountree said in his post-fight interview with Michael Bisping. “I knew when he threw a jab he was very heavy on the front foot. That’s when I threw it and that’s when it landed.”
It was an important win for Rountree’s career, and he said it marked a new chapter.
“My mindset today was just win,” Rountree said. “Win the fight. I don’t care. I’m not hiding anymore. I’m dealing with my fear head-on. I just knew I had to come in here and just get the job done.”
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Paddy Pimblett has arrived in spectacular fashion as he took care of business in his UFC debut with a first-round TKO.
[autotag]Paddy Pimblett[/autotag]’s long-awaited UFC debut has finally occurred.
On Saturday at the UFC Apex, Pimblett (17-3 MMA, 1-0 UFC) took on Luigi Vendramini to kick off the main card of UFC Fight Night 191 and he met all of his pre-fight expectations.
“Let’s go Paddy,” chants rang throughout the UFC Apex from the small, yet energetic crowd to see the highly-touted prospect make a splash. Pimblett started out fast with a few flashy kicking techniques as he looked for a big moment early.
Proving to be no push-over, Vendramini (9-3 MMA, 1-3 UFC) cracked Pimblett with a hard left hand and used the moment to get the fight to the canvas. On the mat, Vendramini landed a few strikes and threatened a submission, but Pimblett scrambled his way back to his feet a few seconds later.
The hard striking exchanges continued in the first round, with Vendramini finding a home for his left hand while Pimblett scored with kicks to the body and quick two-punch combinations.
Towards the end of the first round, Pimblett put together a few punches that landed flush and seemed to instantly bother Vendramini. Sensing the opportunity, Pimblett swarmed and unleashed a flurry of strikes, prompting referee Mark Smith to step in closer.
A couple of seconds later, Pimblett landed a crushing right hand to send Vendramini to the canvas, scoring the first-round TKO.
PADDY THE BADDY
PADDY THE BADDY
PADDY THE BADDY
PADDY THE BADDY
PADDY THE BADDY
PADDY THE BADDY pic.twitter.com/4FWiC0QIME— UFC (@ufc) September 4, 2021
During his post-fight interview when asked about the shakey moment when he looked to be in trouble, Pimblett simply replied, “I’m a Scouser. We don’t get knocked out.”
He also called for a main event or co-main slot on a card in the U.K. when the UFC returns to traveling in Europe.
“I’ll blow the roof off the gaff!”
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