UFC 228: Woodley vs. Till Odds, Tickets, Predictions and Pre-Weigh-in Hype
A title doubleheader headlines UFC 228 as the organization goes to Dallas on Saturday, September 8.
Tyron Woodley will attempt to hold on to his belt for the fourth time. The 36-year-old will take on unbeaten Englishman Darren Till in the main event.
Serving as the co-main event is a women's flyweight fight between Nicco Montano and Valentina Shevchenko. Montano will be making her first defense since winning the belt in December 2017.
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Welterweight and women's flyweight might not be the most interesting divisions right now, but there's a good chance that one or two belts could be changing hands. Throw in a few interesting prospects and you should be able to rustle up some interest in the night's festivities.
Here's a look at the complete offering along with predictions for the night and some pre-weigh-in hype. All odds via OddsShark.
Tickets: StubHub
Main Card (10 PM ET, PPV)
- Tyron Woodley (c) (-115) vs. Darren Till (-115)
- Nicco Montano (c) (+850) vs. Valentina Shevchenko (-1800)
- Zabit Magomedsharipov (-1200) vs. Brandon Davis (+700)
- Karolina Kowalkiewicz (+325) vs. Jessica Andrade (-450)
- Niko Price (+110) vs. Abdul Razak Alhassan (-140)
Preliminary Card (8 PM ET, FX)
- Carla Esparza (+400) vs. Tatiana Suarez (-600)
- Aljamain Sterling (-140) vs. Cody Stamann (+110)
- Jimmie Rivera (-150) vs. John Dodson (+120)
- Charles Byrd (-240) vs. Darren Stewart (+190)
Preliminary Card (6 PM ET, Fight Pass)
- Diego Sanchez (+180) vs. Craig White (-230)
- Jim Miller (+130) vs. Alex White (-160)
- Irene Aldana (-130) vs. Lucie Pudilova (+100)
- Jarred Brooks (-365) vs. Roberto Sanchez (+275)
- Frank Camacho (+150) vs. Geoff Neal (-185)
Darren Till Wants to Launch Himself into Stardom
The biggest storyline of the night is the opportunity that lies before Till. The 25-year-old comes into a title shot with an unblemished 17-0-1 record in the cage and a string of six wins in the UFC that includes Stephen Thompson and Donald Cerrone.
He's a brash European striker with star potential that draws comparisons to Conor McGregor and Michael Bisping, but for him, he just wants to be his own man.
"Listen, what you see is what you get with me. It's 100 percent," Till said, per Brian Campbell of CBS Sports. "You don't get no scripted s--t. Sometimes I might say controversial stuff, but it's all Darren Till and that's the truth. I just want to beat everyone and have everyone in all divisions sit back and say I was the f--king best and the greatest and I beat everyone."
It's a tall task for Till. Woodley hasn't been dominant as champion, but he's been effective. His fights haven't brought the excitement, but he's beaten a precise striker in Stephen Thompson and an elite grappler in Demian Maia.
He believes those kinds of experiences will be the difference for him on Saturday night.
"In this fight, I've got the experience, the wisdom and I punch harder," Woodley said, per Lance Pugmire of the Los Angeles Times. "I'm the better boxer, and the wrestling and grappling is not even close. He's never had the experience I've had in consistently fighting the giants in the sport that I have."
While he is right about having much more experience, Till is confident almost to the point of irrationality, and that can be dangerous.
Woodley has been allowed to be patient in his most recent bouts, with opponents rarely closing the distance for fear of his wrestling or powerful left hand.
Till is just wild enough to push the pace, and that could be enough to make the champion much more uncomfortable than he's been of late.
Prediction: Till via fourth-round TKO
Nicco Montano Out to Silence Critics
The answer to a trivia question.
That's what Montano might just become if the odds are any indication of what's going to happen Saturday night. Montano is the first women's flyweight champion, but Vegas simply doesn't think she'll be keeping the belt when the co-main event comes to an end.
Montano (+850) has the odds of a Fight Pass prelim fighter being fed to a Dana White's Contender Series darling, but she is ready for the opportunity to prove everyone wrong.
"That's absolutely the ultimate goal—to just shut everybody up about it," Montano said, per Damon Martin of FloCombat. "When it comes down to it, uncrowned or not, I'm the one who has the belt currently. I'm the one who's going to be fighting for the belt again come September 8, and it's just going to be me and her."
Montano's story is straight out of a feel-good sports movie. She won the title competing on The Ultimate Fighter, where she made it all the way to the finals as the No. 14 seed on the show.
Defeating Roxanne Modafferi and picking up a win over Shevchenko are two entirely different challenges, though.
Shevchenko has come oh-so-close to winning UFC gold in the bantamweight division. She lost a five-round decision to Amanda Nunes. The Lioness is the only woman to beat her in the last eight years.
Montano was able to overwhelm Modafferi with volume in their championship bout, throwing 456 significant strikes, according to FightMetric. However, that high volume attack against Shevchenko just means more opportunity for her to use her excellent counter-striking skills.
Although this is a title fight, it's simply not a championship-caliber matchup. Shevchenko will put on a clinic.
Prediction: Shevchenko by second-round TKO
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