UFC Vegas 36 Odds: Derek Brunson vs. Darren Till Fight Night Prediction
Everyone in the UFC’s middleweight division is chasing champion Israel Adesanya. The jockeying for position continues on Saturday in Las Vegas, when No. 5 ranked middleweight Derek Brunson takes on No. 7 Darren Till in the main event of UFC Vegas 36.
Till is a -175 favourite to win on the MMA odds, while Brunson comes in as a +135 underdog.
Derek Brunson UFC Vegas 36 Odds
Brunson (22-7 MMA record) has turned heads with his four-fight win streak. He has shut down potential contenders like Elias Theodorou and Ian Heinisch with unanimous decision wins. He also handed Edmen Shahbazyan the first loss of his career with a third-round TKO win last summer. This is Brunson’s second fight of 2021, after earning a five-round unanimous decision victory over Kevin Holland in March. Brunson hasn’t lost since he was TKO’d by current middleweight champ Adesanya in 2018. A win on Saturday could secure Brunson a Top 5 opponent early next year. Earning that Top 5 fight is crucial if Brunson is going to have a shot at the middleweight belt and revenge against Adesanya.
The 37-year-old American comes in as the older fighter, but he has about a one-inch height and three-inch reach advantage, which could prove to be a significant factor in the outcome. Both fighters’ striking accuracy is fairly close, but Brunson lands more significant strikes per minute (3.21) than Till (2.27). Brunson is a high-level grappler who averages just under three takedowns per 15 minutes and has a nearly perfect takedown defence. With his superior grappling and takedown abilities, Brunson’s best bet is to take this fight to the ground. If Brunson can punish Till with takedowns, he’ll have a significant advantage in the fight.
Darren Till UFC Vegas 36 Odds
After a nearly perfect start to his professional MMA career, Till (18-3 MMA record) has hit a bit of a snag. The 28-year-old Liverpool native won 17 of his first 18 professional fights, with one draw. Since 2018, however, he’s lost three of his last four fights. Till lost back-to-back fights, first to Tyron Woodley by submission (Woodley’s last UFC win before moving on to box YouTubers) and next to Jorge Masvidal by knockout. He did beat Kelvin Gastelum in 2019, but it was a tight split decision win. Till hasn’t fought since losing by unanimous decision to Robert Whittaker at Fight Island last summer. If Till wants back in the title conversation, he needs a win on Saturday.
“The Gorilla” is the slightly smaller fighter, but the nine-year age difference favours him more the longer this fight goes. Till is a technical fighter who uses his Muay Thai background to dominate the clinch. He’ll need to be smarter than Brunson’s last few opponents and think defence first. Till’s 83 per cent takedown defence is going to be essential in preventing Brunson’s ground-and-pound strategy. If Till can dominate the clinch and successfully counter-strike Brunson’s aggressive attack style, he’ll be in a good position to pick up crucial points.
UFC Vegas 36 Prediction: Brunson vs. Till
Till is an underrated striker with a high fight I.Q. and I don’t expect his recent run of bad luck to continue. That being said, I still give the edge to Brunson in this fight. He’s aggressive and he’s going to hammer Till with takedowns. Brunson wins this fight by unanimous decision.
