UFC 228 Woodley vs Till Is On! Montano vs Shevchenko Is Off!
Woodley made weight, Till made weight. So it’s official at UFC 228 the current welterweight king Tyron Woodley will be defending his welterweight strap against the young hungry up and comer Darren Till. The co-main event was suppose to be between women’s flyweight champ Nicco Montano and Valentina Shevchenko, but as of this morning Montano was hospitalized and had to pull out of her first title defense. With that being said thoughts and prayers go out to Montano. Hopefully the UFC rebooks Montano vs Shevchenko in the near future. Now it’s time to get into my preview and predictions for UFC 228.
Woodly vs Till: This is one of the most highly anticipated welterweight fights in the history of the UFC. In my opinion Tyron Woodley is one of the most underrated and under appreciated champions in the UFC. Woodley hasn’t lost since 2014, and has absolutely dominated the welterweight division since his loss against Rory Macdonald. Woodly won the belt at UFC 201 against Robbie Lawler. Lawler who’s known for his durability couldn’t withstand the power of Woodley. Woodley only needed one punch to put Lawler to sleep.
Darren Till is on the verge of super stardom in the UFC. If he gets passed Tyron Woodley tomorrow night it’ll be one of the quickest rises we’ve seen from a prospect in UFC history. Till is one of the biggest welterweights in the division and has said multiple times if he wins he wants to hold the middleweight and light heavyweight championship too. This fight can easily go either way if they fought 10 times the results would vary. This fight could either be an explosive back and fourth fight, or it could be a slow chess match. My X factor in this fight is Darren Till’s ability to pressure fighters. Till does his best work when he’s moving forward and forcing his opponent to back up against the cage. If you watch Woodley’s past fights he has the tendency to stand really close to the cage. I think Woodley is going to try to implement his wrestling in the fight. If you watch Till’s previous fights he has a tendency to lean back constantly leaving his hips exposed. That could be Woodley’s key to securing a takedown and possibly presenting a big hole in Till’s game. It’s unknown how good Till’s wrestling is, but we’ll most likely find out tomorrow night. Like I said before this fight is ridiculously close so it’s really hard to predict a winner. I’ve gone back and forth on this one multiple times but my final prediction for this one is Tyron Woodley winning via decision. I’ve doubted Woodley too much in the past and I think to many people doubt him heading into this fight.
OTHER PREDICTIONS
Zabit vs Davis: You have to give it to Brandon Davis, taking a fight against Zabit on short notice is an extremely hard task. Davis is a tough fighter but there are no holes in Zabit’s game. My prediction for this one is Zabit winning via submission in round 2
Andrade vs Kowalkiewicz: The winner of this one will most likely be next in line for a title shot. Jessica Andrade is probably the strongest fighter in the strawweight division, her striking isn’t the most technical but she hits very hard for her size. Kowalkiewicz is a very technical striker but at the same time a very unique fighter. Her striking is some of the best striking in the 115 pound division. My prediction for this one is Andrade clipping Kowalkiewicz with a good shot in the 2nd round and following her to the ground picking up the win via submission.
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Stephen Caloggero (@steveo_calo)