Tyron Woodley claimed he was the best welterweight of all time.
The oddsmakers, however, claimed he was an underdog -- and their numbers suggested English challenger Darren Till would emerge from the UFC 228 main event at American Airlines Center in Dallas with the 170-pound belt securely in his possession.
Woodley, as it turned out, knew the real score.
He proved it by dropping his previously unbeaten challenger with a right hand before ultimately forcing a tap out thanks to a D'arce choke at 4:19 of the second round.
"(There were) a lot of people hating against me, but there's more people that's with me," he said.
"You don't fight with the odds."
The successful defense was Woodley's fourth since winning the championship from Robbie Lawler at UFC 201 in July 2016. He'd not fought in more than a year thanks to injuries, but he came out aggressively Saturday night and immediately went for takedowns against the taller and longer Till -- who entered on a run of successful striking performances, but was less adept when it came to grappling.
Woodley ended up landing 16 strikes to just one for Till in that opening five minutes, and closed the initial round clearly trying to bait his opponent into coming forward into the path of a right hand. The strategy paid off in the first few seconds of the subsequent session, as Till was struck squarely on the left side of the jaw and lurched over to his left side as Woodley gained positional control on the mat.
The action for the next few minutes consisted of Woodley landing fists and elbows as Till gamely played defense and tried to survive, but it appeared the challenger didn't recognize tactics as Woodley was able to subtly cinch his left arm around Till's neck and lock in the choke that led to the submission.
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"He's a tough kid," Woodley said. "He's a long, rangy opponent. Me trying to punch with him was extremely difficult. I had to let him come in. I saw he wasn't going anywhere, I had to take my time.
"He didn't recognize (the choke). At that point I knew I was going to get him."
Till, who earned "Performance of the Night" honors with a one-round halting of ex-champ Donald Cerrone last October, was clearly stunned by the suddenness of the right hand that began the decisive sequence.
"I knew he was powerful. I knew he had power punches," Till said. "My strategy was to feel him out in the first and to come forward. I left my hands down and the shot he clipped me with it was a great shot."
Woodley, who stands 5-foot-9, has been rumored ready to move up to 185 pounds, but he refused to elaborate on future plans beyond announcing the impending release of a musical performance next week. He did express willingness, however, to keep fighting whomever UFC boss Dana White signs up.
"It's kind of tough to say," Woodley said. "Whenever I say I want to fight a certain person, it doesn't get done. Whoever they put in front of me, I'm going to beat them. I'm the best welterweight of all time."
CBS Sports was with you for every punch, kick and submission attempt on Saturday night with our live blog below. If you are having trouble viewing the blog, please click here.
UFC 228 fight card/results
Tyron Woodley (c) def. Darren Till via second-round submission (D'arce choke)
Jessica Andrade def. Karolina Kowalkiewicz via first-round knockout (punch)
Zabit Magomedsharipov def. Brandon Davis via second-round submission (kneebar)
Jimmie Rivera def. John Dodson via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Abdul Razak Alhassan def. Niko Price via first-round knockout (punch)
Tatiana Suarez def. Carla Esparza via third-round TKO (strikes)
Aljamain Sterling def. Cody Stamann via third-round submission (kneebar)
Geoff Neal def. Frank Camacho via second-round KO (kick)
UFC 228 live updates
UFC Welterweight champion Tyron Woodley emphatically demolished his british opponent Darren Till in a savage title defence..
The co-main event saw Jessica Andrade deliver one of the most brutal one punch knockouts women’s UFC has ever seen.
The champ continues his reign
Tyron Woodley has defended his welterweight title in impressive fashion by completely decimating challenger Darren Till.
The opening round went the way of Woodley as Till barely raised his hands during the opening three minutes.
Wary of Woodley’s ability to counter, Till get the champ at arms length but all of that changed in the opening moments of the second round.
Till strolled towards Woodley and threw a right hand, but Woodley read it like a child’s book and landed a right hand bomb which dropped the challenger.
Somehow Till survived the onslaught of elbows and ground and pound but then the finish came with Woodley earning his first submission victory since 2009 via a d’arce choke.
Hats off to Till for daring to dream #UFC228 pic.twitter.com/4qB6bgOOVu — Michael Morgan (@mikewhoatv) September 9, 2018
The fight was supremely one-sided with Till walking out of the Octagon having not landed one single significant strike.
Woodley has long been criticised throughout his UFC career, but his dominant title defence should well and truly earn him the respect he’s deserved.
After the fight Woodley earned his black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
Maybe now Woodley will get the respect he's due as a great champion. #UFC228 — Ben Kiely (@TheJivemaster) September 9, 2018
Fellow UFC fighters could not comprehend what Woodley had just pulled off in his comprehensive title defence.
And the champ @TWooodley makes a HUGE statement. Chokes Till to submission in round 2. #UFC228 — Kenny Florian (@kennyflorian) September 9, 2018
This is the UFC 228 live blog for Tyron Woodley vs. Darren Till, a welterweight championship match at Saturday’s UFC event at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.
Woodley, who is undefeated in his last six bouts including three consecutive title defenses, faces Till, who is undefeated in 18 pro bouts, in the main event.
Check out the UFC 228 live blog below.
Round 1: Dan Miragliotta is the referee for this championship main event. Woodley coming out quick, he darts in with a 1-2 and then looks to clinch. Till doing a good job of tying him up and avoiding a trip. Miragliotta calls for a reset. Lots of feinting, but Woodley explodes with a right hand and that causes Till to back up. They’re both taking their time trying to figure out the right striking distance. Woodley connects with a body kick. Till not throwing anything. Woodley goes in for a single leg, it’s blocked and they’re grappling against the cage with Woodley leaning on him. Till just holding on, perhaps looking for another reset. The challenger spins them around, but Miragliotta then resets them. Not much action as the round closes.
MMA Fighting scores the round 10-9, Woodley.
Round 2: Woodley gets an early knockdown with a right hand and he is all over Till. Big punches and elbows from top position. Till trying desperately to get Woodley into full guard. He’s cut open and Woodley is unloading with ground-and-pound. Miragliotta sees Till is still defending intelligently and he’s not stepping in. Woodley being deliberate with his ground strikes. He advances into half guard. He works for full mount and Till looks to hip escape, but Woodley stays heavy on top and returns to Till’s half guard. Elbows from the top by Woodley. Woodley has Till’s right arm trapped and he is just pummeling the challenger with his own right hand. Woodley attempting a D’Arce choke and Till taps.
Official result: Tyron Woodley def. Darren Till via submission (D’Arce choke) at 4:19 of round two
This is the UFC 228 live blog for Jimmie Rivera vs. John Dodson, a bantamweight bout at Saturday’s UFC event at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.
Rivera, who is coming off of his first loss after winning 20 straight fights, faces Dodson, a two-time flyweight title challenger who has alternated wins and losses in his last seven appearances, on the main card.
Check out the UFC 228 live blog below.
Round 1: The referee for this bout is Dan Miragliotta. Rivera using leg kicks to score early, both fighters circling. Inside leg kick by Dodson. “The Magician” catches a kick and goes for a trip, chasing Rivera to the cage, but Rivera keeps his balance and they reset in the center of the cage. High kick by Dodson partially connects. Rivera goes for a body lock, but Dodson blocks the slam attempt. Leg kicks are working for Rivera. Counter punch by Rivera and he follows up with a body shot. Snapping inside leg kick by Rivera. Dodson lands a nice lunging right hand with 30 seconds remaining. Rivera ends the round by connecting with a couple of quick left hooks.
MMA Fighting scores the round 10-9 Rivera.
Round 2: Rivera scoring with outside leg kicks. They exchange punches and both men have some success. Dodson catches a kick and throws a left hand. Body kick by Dodson. Dodson connects with a punch to the body, he’s dodging in and out and Rivera beckons him to bring it on. Dodson throws a head kick that Rivera almost ducks into, but it’s mostly blocked. Rivera walking Dodson down, neither man throwing much. Another body kick for Dodson and he quickly hops. Rivera with a low kick that catches Dodson’s groin. There’s a brief pause in the action and the bout resumes with about 30 seconds to go. Dodson lands another solid body kick. Close round.
MMA Fighting scores the round 10-9 Dodson. Overall, 19-19.
Round 3: Counter left by Rivera has Dodson stumbling, though it looked like he was just off-balance. Straight right down the middle lands for Rivera. He follows up with a good shot to the body. Now it’s Dodson who looks tentative. Rivera with another good body punch and then he fires some strikes up high to back Dodson up. Lots of movement from Dodson, but he cannot get past Rivera’s jab in this round. Body-head punch combination scores for Rivera. Rivera just walking Dodson down, probing with his jab. Rivera with some big punches late, nothing lands solid. They trade body shots in the clinch as the buzzer sounds.
MMA Fighting scores the round 10-9 Rivera. Overall, 29-28 Rivera.
Official result: Jimmie Rivera def. John Dodson via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
