Heading into UFC 228 tonight, September 8, there were big questions surrounding challenger Darren Till's ability to make weight for his fight against UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley. After all, Till had failed to make weight two in two previous welterweight fights, most recently against Stephen Thompson at UFC Fight Night 130 back in May.
Well, good news for both Till and Woodley, UFC 228's main event is officially set.
Till weighed in at 169 pounds, while
Woodley came in at 170 pounds. Hours after the weigh-in, both fighters caught up with ESPN and offered their thoughts on their upcoming fight at UFC 228.
"I feel great," Till told ESPN.
"When you mention fighting and you put me in a fight, it's the best moment of my life. I like fighting. I don't have any other hobbies. Fighting goes hand-in-hand with me. I'm a fighter through and through."
While Till is the betting favorite, Tyron Woodley has successfully defended the belt four times, most recently against Demian Maia at UFC 214 in July 2017. Although the 36-year-old champion has been sidelined due to a shoulder injury since that fight, he's eager to return to the Octagon. Despite his experience, though, Woodley has sort of flown under the radar heading into this fight.
"I like it," Woodley said.
"I don't have the pressure. I'm supposed to beat him. I'm the best in the world. I'm supposed to beat anyone that comes in front of me. Let him get pumped up about his first title shot. Let him get pumped up about everybody saying that he's not going to win. Let him focus on things that have nothing to do with game planning, nothing to do with solving the Rubik's cube that very few fighters have been able to solve."
The welterweight title fight between Tyron Woodley and Darren Till
will go down tonight at UFC 228. The co-main event fight between Nicco Montaño and Valentina Shevchenko was canceled after it was reported that Montaño was taken to the hospital. UFC President Dana White announced that
Montaño will be stripped of her flyweight belt and that Shevchenko will fight for the vacated belt soon.