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NEW YORK, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 02: Kelvin Gastelum of the United States (L) fights against Darren Till of the United Kingdom in the Middleweight bout during UFC 244 at Madison Square Garden on November 02, 2019 in New York City. Steven Ryan/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by Steven Ryan / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)

The Ultimate Fighting Championship has a jam-packed schedule and this Saturday we are getting what should be a very entertaining middleweight fight between Derek Brunson and Darren Till. Here’s a complete preview, including updated UFC odds and our betting pick.

Derek Brunson vs. Darren Till

UFC Middleweight Main Event Bout

Saturday, September 04, 2021 - 11:45 PM EDT at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas

In the main event of the evening, Derek Brunson battles Darren Till. UFC Vegas 36 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. With plenty of betting lines and markets currently available, let’s attempt to find some value for our UFC picks on Saturday’s main event.

Derek Brunson punches Ian Heinisch. Joe Scarnici/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by Joe Scarnici

Derek Brunson

Introduction, Background and UFC Career

Derek Brunson began his career in sports as a competitive cheerleader and wrestler at John T. Hoggard High School in Wilmington, North Carolina under coach Dan Willis. He had scholarships for both cheerleading and wrestling but opted to wrestle at college. Brunson is a three-time Division II All-American wrestler from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke.

After college he immediately turned his attention to mixed martial arts. He made his professional MMA debut at CFP - Carolina's Summer Fight Series 1 on May 22nd, 2010 against John Bryant and he won using a rear naked choke in under a minute. He would win his next five fights, all before 2:30 of the first round.

Brunson made his Strikeforce debut on June 24th, 2011 at Strikeforce Challengers 16, beating then-undefeated Jeremy Hamilton via unanimous decision. He has been a stalwart of the middleweight top 10 for a long time, facing a who’s who in the division including past fights against Robert Whittaker, Anderson Silva, Lyoto Machida, Ronaldo Souza and Israel Adesanya. The 37-year-old is coming off wins over Elias Theodorou, Ian Heinisch, Edmen Shahbazyan and Kevin Holland. He beat Holland via unanimous decision at UFC Vegas 22 on March 20th.

Born:January 4th, 1984Age:37Country:United StatesHeight:6’1?Weight:186 lbsReach:77?Stance:SouthpawAssociation:Sanford MMAClass:MiddleweightRecord:22-7

Stats

Method of VictorySignificant StrikesTakedowns12 wins by KO/TKO3.46 Landed33% Accuracy3 wins by Submission2.72 Absorbed94% Defended7 wins by Decision

Octagon Strengths

Three-time Division II All-American wrestlerBattle-testedHas heavy hands

Octagon Weaknesses

Has many miles on the clock

Darren Till of the United Kingdom. Steven Ryan/Getty Images/AFP

Darren Till

Introduction, Background and UFC Career

Born in Liverpool, England, Darren Till began training in Muay Thai at 12 years old and turned professional at the age of 15. Till decided to train in MMA under Team Kaobon when he was 17 years old. He was involved in a fight at a party in 2012 after confronting a large group of men and was stabbed twice in the back. The knife cut deep into his body, missing his main artery by a millimeter. The near-death experience and the advice from his then-coach Colin Heron led to his decision to move to Brazil and train with Kaobon’s previous Luta Livre coach Marcelo Brigadiero.

Darren Till was supposed to pursue his MMA career and teach Muay Thai for six months but he stayed for three and a half years. He was 3-0 as an amateur and 12-0 with seven KO/TKO wins in 12 professional fights before joining the UFC. On May 30th, 2015, Till made his UFC debut on nine days' notice at UFC Fight Night 67 and knocked out Wendell de Oliveira Marques in the second round.

After a majority draw against Nicolas Dalby at UFC Fight Night 76 on October 24th, 2015, Till suffered a significant shoulder injury and different personal issues kept him out for a while. He returned to face Jessin Ayari at UFC Fight Night 109 on May 28th, 2017 and he won via unanimous decision.

He then beat Bojan Velickovic, Donald Cerrone and Stephen Thompson before suffering back-to-back losses against Tyron Woodley and Jorge Masvidal. Till got back on track by beating Kelvin Gastelum via split decision at UFC 244 on November 2nd but in his last fight he lost a unanimous decision against Robert Whittaker at UFC on ESPN 14 on July 25th, 2020.

Born:December 24th, 1992Age:28Country:EnglandHeight:6’0?Weight:185 lbsReach:74?Stance:SouthpawAssociation:Astra Fight Team/TeamKaobonClass:MiddleweightRecord:18-3-1

Stats

Method of VictorySignificant StrikesTakedowns10 wins by KO/TKO2.27 Landed41% Accuracy2 wins by Submission2.99 Absorbed82% Defended6 wins by Decision

Octagon Strengths

One of the best strikers in the middleweight divisionMuay Thai expertHas pure fighting talent

Octagon Weaknesses

Tends to have overconfidence at timeshttps://youtu.be/-_c3LjXGj2s

Prediction

Till's technical striking is elite, not many middleweight fighters can outstrike him across five rounds and while Brunson is a power puncher, his best path to victory is with his wrestling offense. He has to try to submit Till. It's easier said than done, keeping Till down is extremely difficult and Brunson's reckless offense can leave him open to counter strikes from Till that can cause significant damage.

UFC Pick: (visit our Sportsbook Review)

*The pick reflects the line at the moment the writer made the play, the odds at the beginning of this article show the live line movement. Since the lines might vary, don’t forget to refer back to our live odds.