UFC Vegas 36 Results: Derek Brunson Dominates, Submits Darren Till

By
Josh Evanoff
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UFC Vegas 36 Derek Brunson
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - SEPTEMBER 04: (L-R) Derek Brunson punches Darren Till of England in their middleweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on September 04, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)

In the main event of UFC Vegas 36, Derek Brunson picked up a huge submission win over Darren Till.

Despite the fight not coming at home in England, Darren Till nonetheless had a huge opportunity in front of him at UFC Vegas 36. While Derek Brunson was on a four-fight win streak, his record sported a loss to current middleweight champ Israel Adesanya. And despite Till’s 1-1 record in the UFC’s middleweight division, he was a fighter heavy on name value, and someone “The Last Stylebender” had yet to face.

Of course, Adesanya’s forthcoming rematch with Robert Whittaker could change the shape of the division in an instant. But a win for Till over Brunson Saturday could still push him high up in the title picture.

Till opened up quickly, looking for lots of pressure. Till looked to land his signature left over the guard of Brunson, and it did land a couple of times early. However, it wasn’t long before Brunson got a big takedown and landed in half guard. Brunson postured up and dropped some huge elbows and right hands on Till, causing Till to start have some swelling on his right eye. However, Brunson didn’t stop there. Till did his best to scramble and hold on but Brunson just battered Till on the mat. With about a minute left Till was able to push off and get back to the feet, but neither fighter was able to do much on the feet in the final 60 seconds.

Till came out popping the jab to start round two, but once again Brunson looked for the takedown. Till did an amazing job of balancing and staying on the feet to defend the first takedown and then stuffed another one after the break. However, after the second break, the third time was the charm as Brunson got a big takedown and landed in half guard. Till did a much better job of minimizing damage this round, however, and he was able to work his way to the feet prior to round three.

Till was firing to start round three, landing his signature left straight a couple of times early. Brunson shot in for a takedown that was quickly stuffed, and Till hit him with a nice short elbow on the break followed by a stiff leg kick. Till clipped Brunson and hurt him after a clean left hand. Till chased him down and nearly got the finish but Brunson changed levels and get a big takedown. Following a quick scramble, Brunson ended up in mount and land some big shots, Till gave up his back and Brunson got a quick tap after locking in the rear-naked choke.

Derek Brunson def. Darren Till by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) in Round 3 (2:13) 

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