Former UFC welterweight title challenger Darren Till and new UFC welterweight contender Ben Askren have been jawing at each other on social media for weeks, slowly constructing one of the division’s best rivalries.
As luck would have it, they’re both currently in London, as Till is set to battle Jorge Masvidal in the UFC London main event, and Askren is on the ground as a guest fighter.
Given that they’re both in The Big Smoke for the card, it was only a matter of time before they crossed paths. And thankfully, the UFC had cameras rolling at the time of their inevitable meeting.
See Ben Askren and Darren Till cross paths at the top of this post.
Askren also detailed this run-in with Till in a quick interview, which can be seen below:
Provided Darren Till gets by Jorge Masvidal in the UFC London main event tomorrow night, which is far from a certainty, all signs point to a fight between him and Ben Askren in the not too distant future.
Here’s the full lineup for the anticipated UFC London card, which will air entirely on ESPN+ (get a free trial here):
170 lbs.: Darren Till vs. Jorge Masvidal 170 lbs.: Leon Edwards vs. Gunnar Nelson 205 lbs.: Volkan Oezdemir vs. Dominick Reyes 135 lbs.: Jose Quinonez vs. Nathaniel Wood 170 lbs.: Danny Roberts vs. Claudio Silva 185 lbs.: Jack Marshman vs. John Phillips
145 lbs.: Arnold Allen vs. Jordan Rinaldi 155 lbs.: Marc Diakiese vs. Joseph Duffy 205 lbs.: Nicolae Negumereanu vs. Saparbeg Safarov 185 lbs.: Tom Breese vs. Ian Heinisch 145 lbs.: Danny Henry vs. Dan Ige 125 lbs.: Priscila Cachoeira vs. Molly McCann 145 lbs.: Mike Grundy vs. Nad Narimani
Do you think we’ll see Darren Till and Ben Askren fight this year, or will Jorge Masvidal play the spoiler?
This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 3/15/2019.
A former UFC champion believes that Islam Makhachev has taken the title of lightweight GOAT from Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Makhachev is ready to move on from 155 pounds. UFC CEO Dana White recently announced that Makhachev will be vacating the UFC Lightweight Championship to challenge Jack Della Maddalena for the welterweight gold. Makhachev ends his run at 155 pounds with the most successful UFC lightweight title defenses.
UFC star Charles Oliveira has promised a big performance when he goes head to head with Ilia Topuria at UFC 317.
As announced earlier this week, Charles Oliveira will challenge for the UFC lightweight championship once again. He will do so in the main event of UFC 317 against Ilia Topuria, who has officially made the move up to the lightweight division. While everyone knows that ‘Do Bronx’ has a chance, Topuria is widely considered to be the favorite to walk away with the belt in this encounter.
UFC star Ilia Topuria has issued an apology ahead of his recently announced UFC 317 main event against Charles Oliveira.
As we know, Ilia Topuria is making the move up to lightweight in pursuit of a second world title. Now, we also know that he’s going to be challenging for the championship straight away. He’ll lock horns with Charles Oliveira in the main event of UFC 317, and many believe he has a great chance at winning the title. Of course, getting through someone like ‘Do Bronx’ is going to be no easy task, and Ilia knows that.
Alexander Volkanovski is the latest fighter to question the judges after Jose Aldo’s controversial defeat at UFC 315.
Last weekend, Jose Aldo competed for what was likely the final time in mixed martial arts. He squared off against Aiemann Zahabi in a brutal encounter and in the end, he lost via decision. While some thought it was a fair call from the judges, a lot of fans and pundits alike heavily questioned it, suggesting that Jose was the clear winner of the contest.
Jack Hermansson will finally make his return to the Octagon at UFC 317 at the end of June.
Hermansson last fought in February of 2024 when he beat Joe Pyfer by decision in a five-round main event. After that fight, Hermansson suffered some injuries that forced him to be on the sidelines and not be able to fight.
UFC CEO Dana White has plenty of confidence that Jon Jones vs Tom Aspinall will happen.
White announced the UFC 317 and UFC 319 main events, and neither is Jones defending his heavyweight title. Many fans were hoping Jones vs Aspinall would headline the International Fight Week on June 29 in Las Vegas, but that won’t happen as White announced the main event would be Ilia Topuria vs Charles Oliveira.
UFC CEO Dana White has officially announced Ilia Topuria will take on Charles Oliveira at UFC 317.
International Fight Week is always one of the biggest events of the year, but the promotion had yet to announce the headliner. A key reason why was that Islam Makhachev, the lightweight champion, wanted to see how the main event played out, as if Jack Della Maddalena beat Belal Muhammad, he would be moving up to welterweight.
Dricus Du Plessis is finally set to defend the UFC middleweight title against Khamzat Chimaev.
The two fighters will meet in the main event of UFC 319, which is slated for August 16, according to the promotion’s CEO Dana White.
