Despite the fact the UFC awarded Colby Covington an interim title for beating Rafael dos Anjos in June, the polarizing welterweight star won’t be getting the next shot at the division’s real champion, Tyron Woodley.
That’s because the UFC announced Tuesday night that Woodley will instead face rising contender Darren Till in the main event of UFC 228 in September.
The UFC announced last week that a women’s flyweight title bout between champ Nicco Montano and challenger Valentina Shevchenko would take place on the card but since that matchup doesn’t have enough prestige to warrant a pay-per-view headliner slot the organization sought to add another title fight to put on the card.
According to ESPN’s Ariel Helwani, Covington recently underwent surgery to correct a nasal issue and wouldn’t have been able to compete on the card, which factored into the UFC’s decision to set up Woodley-Till.
Woodley hasn’t fought since a unanimous decision victory over Demian Maia one year ago at UFC 214 and has been on the mend since undergoing shoulder surgery in December.
The 36-year-old won the 170-pound division’s championship by knocking out Robbie Lawler in 2016 but his title reign has been relatively underwhelming. He retained his title via majority draw against Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson in his first title defence attempt then squeaked out a lacklustre majority decision win in their rematch four months later. His fight against Maia was also considered a bit of a dud.
Till (17-0-1) is coming off a controversial unanimous decision win in his hometown of Liverpool, England over “Wonderboy” in May. Not only did Till fail to impress the masses against Thompson, but he also happened to miss weight by three pounds. Till earned contender status when he stopped Donald Cerrone within one round this past October.
UFC 228 takes place Sept. 8 at American Airlines Center in Dallas. Here’s a look at how the fight card is shaping up:
— Tyron Woodley vs. Darren Till
— Nicco Montano vs. Valentina Shevchenko
— Jessica Andrade vs. Karolina Kowalkiewicz
— Yair Rodriguez vs. Zabit Magomedsharipov
— Aljamain Sterling vs. Cody Stamann
— Carla Esparza vs. Tatiana Suarez
— Jimmie Rivera vs. John Dodson
— Ryan Benoit vs. Roberto Sanchez
— Charles Byrd vs. Darren Stewart
— Geoff Neal vs. Frank Camacho
— Jim Miller vs. Alex White
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