The opening odds for the upcoming welterweight title fight at 228 between champion Tyron Woodley and champion Darren Till were recently released by the offshore sportsbooks, and here they are:
UFC 228 Opening Odds
Saturday, September 8 at American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas
Tyron Woodley -145
Darren Till +115
And here are my initial thoughts on this bout:
After Colby Covington defeated Rafael dos Anjos at UFC 225 to win the interim title, we all thought he was going to fight Woodley for the belt. But the UFC needed a main event for UFC 228 on short notice and Covington wasn’t ready, so the UFC called upon Till to fight Woodley for the belt and now the two will meet in the main event of UFC 228 in what is a very intriguing matchup.
Woodley (18-3-1) is 8-2-1 overall in the UFC and he has gone undefeated over his last six fights with a decision win over Demian Maia in his last outing. Woodley is a very well-rounded fighter as he comes from a wrestling background but he also has an underrated striking attack with knockout power in his punches. The knock on Woodley has been his long layoff and also that he sometimes doesn’t throw enough strikes in his fights, but overall his style has been very good to him as he’s the welterweight champion with no sign of stopping anytime soon. Hopefully now that he is back fighting he is able to stay healthy and get back on a more regular schedule as Woodley’s return makes the welterweight division that much stronger.
Till (17-0-1) is undefeated as a pro and has a 5-0-1 record in the UFC. In his last fight, he won a controversial decision over Stephen Thompson in a fight where he missed weight. One of the biggest welterweights on the roster, Till has quickly become a star in the sport and his knockout win over Donald Cerrone served as a wakeup call to the rest of the welterweights that he has what it takes to be one of the best fighters in the division. As far as his fighting style goes, Till will look to keep his fights on the feet and use his size and strength to take over the center of the Octagon and bully his opponents. I would like to see him open up in his fights more and he may be forced to when he takes on Woodley in this title fight.
Although Woodley did open as the favorite and he does deserve that respect as the champion, I actually like Till in this fight. If he can stuff the takedowns I give him a pretty sizeable advantage in the striking department. Till is going to be the much bigger fighter and we are going to have to see if he can actually make weight for this fight but if he can, it’s going to be one heck of a fight. Woodley isn’t going to want to give up his title easily and Till is super hungry and motivated to take it from him. I’m really looking forward to this bout.
