Darren Till suffered the second submission loss of his UFC career four years ago today.
The former UFC title challenger keeps on winning in the boxing ring. Till, 32, has won all four of his post-UFC fights in boxing, delivering a nasty knockout of former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold in the main event of Misfits 22 last weekend.
For a time, it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows for Till.
Once 17-0-1 as a pro, Till went 1-5 against some of the best fighters including then champion Tyron Woodley, Dricus du Plessis, and Robert Whittaker.
Till was handed back-to-back losses at middleweight when he came across a reborn perennial contender.
Derek Brunson put on a vintage performance against Darren Till for fifth-straight UFC win
On Sept. 4, 2021, Till fought 3X Division II All-American wrestler Derek Brunson in the five-round main event of UFC Vegas 36 at the UFC Apex.
Brunson was the #5-ranked contender at the time and on a four-fight win streak at 37 years old.
‘Blonde’ Brunson put a beating on Till, swelling up his eye with strikes in the opening round. Brunson secured three takedowns across three rounds, racking up 7:23 of control time in a wrestling showcase.
“Brunson’s ground and pound has improved night and day,” Daniel Cormier said of Brunson’s success against Till.
Brunson did have a close call when the boxer had him hurt in round 3, but Brunson quickly rallied for a takedown. He unleashed more ground and pound before Till eventually gave up his back.
Brunson went for the rear-naked choke and squeezed until Till tapped out.
This was Brunson’s fifth-straight win in the Octagon and his final one, as the legend of ‘Blonde’ Brunson died down in his next two fights against Jared Cannonier and now former champ Dricus du Plessis in competitive outings.
Till’s only other submission loss came in a title fight against Tyron Woodley, via D’arce choke, after the boxer was dropped on the feet.
Where is Derek Brunson now?
Brunson left the UFC for the PFL in 2023 following his fight with du Plessis.
The 21-fight veteran only fought once under the PFL banner, winning his debut against their former champion Ray Cooper III in Nov. 2023.
Brunson hasn’t fought since, unless you count his grappling match against Rodolfo Vieira at ADXC 7 last November. Brunson recently admitted he regrets going to the PFL.
The American is now signed to Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC), joining the likes of former UFC foe Yoel Romero. Brunson does not have his debut lined up, as of this writing.