Tyron Woodley vs. Darren Till nearly official for UFC 228

A welterweight title fight — not involving interim champion Colby Covington — is nearly finalized for UFC 228.

Champion Tyron Woodley is expected to defend his belt against top contender Darren Till at the September pay-per-view card, ESPN’s Ariel Helwani reported Tuesday afternoon. The title fight is almost a done deal, per the report. UFC officials have yet to announce the meeting.

Of course, Woodley was initially expected to fight Covington, who won the interim title last month with a win over Rafael dos Anjos, but “Chaos” is still recovering from an injury and the UFC has opted to give Till a title shot instead.

Woodley hasn’t fought since a July 2017 title defense against Demian Maia, whom he beat by one-sided decision. Prior to that, he defended the strap twice against Stephen Thompson; the first meeting resulted in a draw. “The Chosen One” won the 170-pound championship with a knockout of Robbie Lawler two years ago.

Till is coming off the biggest win of his career — a controversial decision over the aforementioned Thompson in the UFC Fight Night 130 main event this past May. Before that, the undefeated Liverpool native stopped veteran Donald Cerrone with strikes last October.

It should be noted that Till missed weight by three pounds for the Thompson bout, marking the second time in his last four fights that he’s failed to make the welterweight limit.

Woodley vs. Till will likely serve as the event’s headliner.

Good MMA article from bloodyelbow