UFC in Vegas 36: Brunson vs. Till First Look: Odds, Betting Picks and Predictions

The UFC returns to the Apex Centre in Vegas for another stacked UFC Fight Night event. Two of the UFC's top-ranked middleweights will square off in the main event.

Read on for our complete betting guide taking a first look at Darren Till and Derek Brunson, including updated odds and our free expert UFC betting predictions.

Derek Brunson vs. Darren Till

UFC Middleweight Main Event Bout

Saturday, September 04, 2021 - 11:45 PM EDT at the UFC Apex Center

Derek Brunson (22-7-0)

UFC middleweight Derek Brunson has an absolute murderers-row of martial artists on his fight resume. The seven losses he’s suffered don't seem that bad when you recognize the level of competition he has come up against.

Hailing from North Carolina, USA, Brunson began his martial arts journey on the wrestling mats. High achievements led him to a Division II All-American level of the game, eventually turning to MMA once he had finished college.

Heavy-hands and high-level wrestling have put Brunson as a staple gatekeeper in the middleweight division, who could achieve title contention with just another handful of significant wins.

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Derek Brunson MMA Accomplishments

UFC Fight of the Night (Two times)UFC Performance of the Night (One time)NCAA Division II All-American (University of North Carolina)

Best Available Odds: (visit our Sportsbook Review)

Darren Till of the United Kingdom fights Kelvin Gastelum of the United States (L) during UFC 244 on November 02, 2019. Steven Ryan/Getty Images/AFP

Darren Till (18-3-1)

With an 18-3-1 professional career record (7-2 UFC), Darren Till has been on a professional path of destruction by winning seventeen consecutive fights besides a draw to Nicolas Dalby. He soon landed himself a title opportunity against Tyron Woodley, who dished out Tills’ first loss by way of submission.

A second loss to Jorge Masvidal sent Till to the middleweight division, where he wouldn’t have to worry about his weight-cutting issues.

Born and raised in Liverpool, England - Till began training in Muay Thai at age 12, later turning professional at the tender age of 15. He spent much of his young career in Brazil, where he was a part of the 'Astra Fight Team'. Before his UFC tenure, in 2013, Darren fought eight times alone! And his record was 12-0 with seven knockouts before joining the UFC roster.

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I believe Till was thrown into title contention way too early. He was out with a shoulder injury between 2015 and 2017 and, on his return, only had to win four straight fights to get himself a shot at the title. Taking a closer look at his record, he only has a handful of notable wins, and when the UFC was giving him opponents like Jessin Ayari, they were handing him winnable fights.

Without sounding like I'm scrutinizing Darren Till's win record, he was gifted the title shot and is in the position he's in down to his pure fighting talent. A mean southpaw stood with a Muay Thai stance, Darren is one of the best strikers in the middleweight division and, aged 28, has more than enough time to sharpen his tools and become one of the best in the world.

Darren Till MMA Accomplishments

UFC Performance of the Night (One time)UFC Fight of the Night (Two times)2019 Fight of the Year vs. Israel Adesanya

Best Available Odds: (visit our Sportsbook Review)

Derek Brunson kicks Ian Heinisch during UFC 241 on August 17, 2019. Joe Scarnici/Getty Images/AFP

How can Brunson win?

Plain and simple, wrestling! Brunson will be forced to utilize his wrestling offense to stand a chance of winning his matchup versus Darren Till.

And yes, Till is riding the first losing streak (1-3) of his professional career, but the level of competition has been elite. When we’re matching up the striking skill level of each man, Till is lightyears ahead of Brunson. Outside of being a power puncher, Brunson doesn’t offer much within his stand-up game.

A ground and pound or a grounded position where Brunson can finish this fight via submission is the viable path to success.

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How can Till win?

Till’s background in Muay Thai has been at the forefront of his MMA career; when it comes to technical striking, there aren’t many fighters in the middleweight division who could outstrike Darren Till across five rounds.

In addition, Till has proved to own a tremendous defensive wrestling system and when he has suffered from takedown attempts, it's extremely difficult to keep him down.

Darren Till vs. Derek Brunson Betting Prediction and Picks

The available odds at Sportsbook Review opened with Till as the favorite, and I agree entirely. Brunson might land a takedown or two, but across twenty-five minutes, I struggle to envision him holding Till down long enough to cause any significant damage or score enough to claim a decisive victory.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Till finishes this contest with his dangerous left hand and that's why I like him for my UFC pick.

Brunson presents many holes in his striking defense, mainly stemming from his reckless offense. Lunging, unguarded, and poorly setup strikes leave Brunson open to a multitude of counter strikes and potential fight-ending

UFC Pick: (visit our Sportsbook Review)

UFC IN VEGAS 36 MAIN CARD

Darren Till vs. Derek Brunson(UFC middleweight main event bout)Tom Aspinall vs. Sergei Pavlovich(UFC Heavyweight co-main event bout)Ariane Lipski vs. Mandy Bohm(UFC women’s flyweight bout)Sergey Khandozhko vs. David Zawada(UFC welterweight bout)Modestas Bukauskas vs. Khalil Rountree(UFC light heavyweight bout)Paddy Pimblett vs. Luigi Vendramini(UFC lightweight bout)