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MMAjunkie Radio co-host Dan Tom breaks down the UFC’s top bouts, and today we look at the main event for UFC 228.

UFC 228 takes place Saturday at American Airlines Center in Dallas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FX and UFC Fight Pass.

Tyron Woodley (18-3-1 MMA, 8-2-1 UFC)

Staple info:

• Height: 5’9″ Age: 36 Weight: 170 lbs. Reach: 74″
• Last fight: Decision win over Demian Maia (July 29, 2017)
• Camp: ATT Evolution/Roufusport (Missouri/Milwaukee)
• Stance/striking style: Orthodox/kickboxing
• Risk management: Excellent

Supplemental info:
+ UFC welterweight champion
+ 2x Division 1 All-American wrestler
+ Brazilian jiu-jitsu brown belt
+ 7 KO victories
+ 4 submission wins
+ 8 first-round finishes
+ KO power
+ Fast-twitch athlete
^ Closes distance quickly
+ Devastating right hand
^ Coming forward or off the counter
+ Heavy leg kicks
+ Strong inside the clinch
^ 95 percent takedown defense
+ Explosive power-double takedown
+ Solid transitional grappler

Darren Till (17-0-1 MMA, 5-0-1 UFC)

Staple info:

• Height: 6’0″ Age: 25 Weight: 170 lbs. Reach: 74″
• Last fight: Decision win over Stephen Thompson (May 27, 2018)
• Camp: Team Kaobon (Liverpool, England)
• Stance/striking style: Southpaw/muay Thai
• Risk management: Good

Supplemental info:
+ K-1 European title
+ Luta Livre purple belt
+ Thai boxing experience
+ 10 KO victories
+ 2 submission wins
+ 5 first-round finishes
+ KO power
+ Good feints and footwork
+ Accurate left hand
^ Coming forward or off the counter
+ Hard Thai kicks
^ Works well to the body
+ Strong inside the clinch
^ Dangerous elbows and knees
+ Underrated grappling ability
^ Shows good positional awareness

Summary

The main event for UFC 228 features a potential welterweight war between champion Tyron Woodley and Darren Till.

Woodley, who’s been out of action for over a year, will attempt to restore order to the division by reminding the masses of who the current king is at 170 pounds. Meanwhile, Till, a fast-rising English contender who has yet to taste defeat, finds himself on the doorsteps of proving something he’s been saying all along — that he’s the best.

Starting off on the feet, we have two fighters who prefer to counter but do so in different ways.

Till, who embodies an authentic muay Thai spirit, mixes in a brand of southpaw swagger that is uniquely his own. Despite the bravado that the Englishman exudes, Till smartly works behind subtle feints and solid footwork while creating angles that allow him to capitalize and counter on his opponent’s reactions.

Favoring his crafty left cross, Till possesses a pull-counter that is slightly akin to Conor McGregor’s, typically stunning his opposition when landing it cleanly. The 25-year-old also throws left Thai kicks that tend to flow off of his left-handed threats, but he could get more than he bargains for should he throw them nakedly (without setup) against Woodley.

Woodley, a standout wrestler, has always shown a knack for countering kicks with both takedowns and strikes since early on in his MMA career.

Making steady but consistent strides with this striking throughout the years, Woodley has developed into a dangerous knockout threat on his feet. Though using it less frequently in recent outings, the champion possesses one of the fastest blitzes in the sport (running neck and neck with Yoel Romero, for my money).

Closing the distance at the drop of a dime, Woodley can accurately target his opponent’s head with his crushing right cross. And since making the trek to train more consistently with Duke Roufus, the St. Louis native has done a better job of attaching kicks to his combinations.

Still, Woodley ultimately seems to be a counter fighter at heart, a sensibility that seems to be a two-way street in regards to his perception. Tactically, the champion’s style of walking himself back toward the fence has served him well in the sense that he is the one who is dictating the exchanges, subtly allowing his opponents into his range.

The question, however, is how much riskier will Woodley’s tactic/tendency be against Till, a fighter who does his best work when able to corral his opposition against the cage?

For that reason, I suspect that the clinch exchanges will be a crucial junction in this contest.

Woodley typically uses the clinch to either stall or neutralize his opponents, whereas Till tends to flow offensively or defensively with the position (depending on what the situation is calling for). That said, Till also possesses a shelling forearm guard that he uses to dissuade distance closing, angling and separating off brief collisions in close.

If Woodley cannot attach himself to Till in the clinch or fails to get any semblance of a dirty boxing game going, then I suspect the former All-American will attempt to dust off his explosive power-double takedown to go underneath the Englishman’s defenses. But just because Woodley is a difficult force to deny, does not mean you can discount the underrated defensive grappling of Till.

Coming from a Luta Livre background (a style more synonymous with catch wrestling than jiu-jitsu), Till demonstrates excellent positional awareness and disciplined hand-fighting, a technique that helps him defend takedowns, as well as allows him to unleash unforgiving elbows when topside. From the bottom, the Liverpudlian displays craft and composure whenever put on his back, and will smartly not stick around long to see how things play out.

Instead, Till will typically elect to turtle-out to his base and work to stand from there. Against Woodley, however, the scouse fighter may find it hard to create the scrambles he needs to.

A solid positional player, Woodley knows how to secure a spot while doing damage in the process. And if you go back to his Strikeforce career, you will see savvy submissions and transitional grappling on display, something that could come into play here if Till isn’t careful when tripoding to his feet or working in transit.

The oddsmakers and public seem to be at odds as to where to put their money, listing Woodley -115 and Till -105 as of this writing.

As someone who initially came in leaning toward Till, I can understand the discrepancy of opinions. Despite not owning as strong of a resume, Till possesses all the tools and intangibles to win this fight. He is a sizeable welterweight who has seldom been stung by shots, and appears to be no easy task to take or hold down. Furthermore, if Till gets going, his confidence and composure can fuel his assaults for five rounds (regardless of a rough weight cut).

Considering that Woodley has shown a propensity to fade as fights wear on in the past, this fight’s temperature could raise if Till forces the champion to work hard to combat his pressure – especially if Woodley fails to hurt the challenger or take significant control of the fight early.

But in the champ’s last outing against Demian Maia – a fight that received massive criticism – Woodley showed the ability to counter grapple effectively for five rounds (with one arm, no less), which I thought was the silver lining of that performance when you consider that he got tired counter grappling Jake Shields within three rounds earlier in his career. And given that the champion has gotten another headstart on his challenger in regards to training camp, I slightly lean toward a well prepared Woodley to dictate the terms of what should be a competitive five-round affair.

Official pick: Woodley by decison