Break it Down: Darren Till vs. Wendell Oliveira

This welterweight match up between twenty-two year old UFC newcomer Darren Till (12-0) and Wendell Oliveira (24-8) could reveal whether the UK has future UFC star in the making.

Till is a product of the increasingly successful Team Kaobon based in Liverpool, but has made a name for himself on the Brazilian and Argentinean circuits by literally steaming through the opposition, forcing stoppages in ten of his twelve wins with eight coming by way of knockout. The scouser’s record speak for itself, which is why the UFC have come knocking and offered him a bout another talented striker in the Brazilian Wendell Oliveira.

Oliveira suffered a loss in his only UFC match up against Santiago Ponzinibbio via first round KO in a bout that he seemed to be controlling until he was clipped with a long left hook which wobbled him, and was subsequently finished off against the cage. Oliveira possesses an intimidating frame, a technically clean yet rather reckless Muay Thai game and likes to throw every strike with knockout intentions, making me inclined to liken him to a poor man’s Melvin Manhoef  (which I hasten to add is intended as a compliment).

Till has a good style to counter this kind of aggression. Each of his bouts turn out looking like a very one sided Thai boxing match, with most of his opponents completely unable to take him down. The southpaw constantly throws outside leg kicks off of his lead leg, keeps the distance with long right hooks and straight left hands and doesn’t hang around long on the inside, snapping his opponent’s head down with the Thai clinch or quickly pushing them away before they get close. This is all textbook Muay Thai stuff which the likes of Conor McGregor may call stale and predictable, but it is battle tested and extremely effective if it becomes second nature. Darren has clearly had good habits drilled into him from a young age, and carries out his attacks with a kind of measured aggression that isn’t typical of your average twenty-two year old fighter. He doesn’t go looking for the KO, he just does all of the right things, doesn’t let his opponent finish an attack without instantly throwing something more effective right back at him, and more often than not his opponent wilts and the KO presents itself.

One of the major knocks on Darren Till is the level of competition that he has been facing. According to Sherdog.com only three of his past opponents possess winning records, and his entire record consists of basically unheard of fighters. His most high profile fight was probably against the Nova Uniao Argentina product Guillermo Martinez Ayme in Arena Tour, an up-and-coming high budget Argentinean promotion. Ayme was able to pose more of a threat than Till’s previous opponents, but was still defeated in a three round unanimous decision.

If we learned anything of Till’s weaknesses in that fight, it’s that he is least comfortable when he is moving backwards. Although very capable of avoiding strikes, countering or clinching, he is more dangerous when he is allowed to establish his rhythm and snipe his opponent from a distance. If I had to design an opponent to beat Till, it’d be an in-your-face wrestler with constant forward movement, like a Colby Covington or Kelvin Gastelum type-character.  Wendell Oliveira does not possess this skill set. Four of his eight losses have come by way of submission, and the vast majority of his wins are by KO/TKO. In my opinion, this fight will take the form of a kickboxing bout in which Wendell Oliveira will not come out smelling of roses.

However this will certainly be no walk in the park for Darren. Oliveira is always dangerous and it is also important to note that Till is taking this fight on around ten days notice, whereas Oliveira has been expecting to make his second UFC appearance since last December when he was first scheduled to fight TJ Waldburger. That bout fell through twice, and I’m sure that the in-shape Oliveira will be keen to just get in there with anyone by this point. Unfortunately for Wendell, Till will also be in great shape due to the fact that he gained a fourth round TKO victory less than three weeks ago in a bout that was scheduled for five rounds. What’s more, Till was already in training for a fight that was due to take place on June the 13th before he got the call to sign for the UFC.

These two strikers have been given the privilege of kicking off the main card of UFC Fight Night 67 this weekend on the 30th of May. Oliveira will be looking to prove that his promotional debut was just a fluke, and Darren Till will be eager to show that he is the next big thing in the UFC’s welterweight division.

Prediction: Darren Till via Unanimous Decision.