Welterweight contender Darren Till (17-1, 10 KOs, 2 SUBs) will meet Jorge “Gamebred” Masvidal (32-13, 13 KOs, 2 SUBs) at UFC on ESPN+ 5 on Saturday, March 16, 2019 at The O2 Arena in London, England. The card streams live on ESPN+ starting 3pm ET.
Let’s see how Darren Till bounces back. Not only did the Liverpool native suffer the first loss of his career, he was absolutely demolished in a title fight by champion Tyron Woodley this past September. In a fight where he actually entered as a slight favorite, Till found out that there was levels to this game.
This Saturday, he gets a home match in London against slick vet Jorge Masvidal. “Gamebred” enters the contest with two straight losses - a split decision defeat to Demian Maia and a UD to Stephen Thompson. The pairing serves as the main event for the UFC’s first trip to London in 2019.
Though Masvidal is ranked No. 10 at Welterweight (Till is No. 3), his performances against the elite tier at 170 speak volumes. Simply put, he’s never been an easy out, whether he’s facing wrestlers, strikers or grapplers. When he faced Maia, the Floridian was actually a dark horse title challenger, though his hopes got rolled up by the Brazilian’s wrestling.
Till has some work to do before he gets another title shot, but the young kickboxer is only 26. Still, there are still a lot of questions about whether he can consistently make 170 pounds - he’s an absolute unit for the weight class and has missed the cut on a few occasions.
Let’s take a look at the UFC odds at BookMaker.eu and break down your best online betting options. Live UFC betting is also available between rounds during the fight, just in case you want to hedge any of your previous plays.
UFC Odds at BookMaker.eu
Darren Till -247
Jorge Masvidal +191
Fight goes/doesn’t go to decision: sign in for odds
Significant Striking Stats
Landed per minute: Till 2.39 / Masvidal 4.1
Accuracy: Till 45% / Masvidal 47%
Absorbed per minute: Till 2.98 / Masvidal 4.24
Defense: Till 61% / Masvidal 67%
Grappling Stats
Takedown average: Till 0.5 / Masvidal 1.13
Takedown accuracy: Till 33% / Masvidal 51%
Takedown defense: Till 86% / Masvidal 78%
Submission average: Till 0 / Masvidal 0.53
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Till is a huge favorite here, and that’s mainly because of two things: he’s significantly bigger than his opponent, and is largely seen as a better striker. That first part is true. Masvidal is a guy that used to fight at 155, so he’s not a big welterweight to begin with. On the other hand, everybody and their mama is telling Till to move up to 185 pounds - he walks around close to 200 pounds.
Is Till a better kickboxer though? He definitely is the more powerful of the two, and flashier as well. Masvidal relies more on his boxing, starting with the same crisp jab that carved up Cowboy Cerrone. Till also scored a knockout over Cowboy, but it was much more a thunderous hellstorm compared to Masvidal’s surgical operation. In another common opponent in Stephen Thompson, Masvidal was stumped by the long range sniping, while Till prevailed with better distance striking.
Though Masvidal isn’t shy about trying to score a takedown, it’s tough seeing him taking down the bigger Till - who stuffs 86% of takedowns. Expect a tactical kickboxing match, with Masvidal trying to get inside the reach of the Brit to try and land his hands.
UFC Odds Pick: Till to win at -247
We really just don’t see any paths to victory for Masvidal. If he doesn’t get muscled around, he’s gonna eat a lot of kicks from the outside. Considering the fact that he couldn’t figure out how to win the distance game with Thompson, it’s highly unlikely he’ll be able to do so against an even bigger fighter.
Bet on UFC odds online at BookMaker.eu
Access live betting lines from your mobile device at BookMaker sportsbook! Real-time spreads, totals, props and money line are all available so start betting with BookMaker today. UFC on ESPN+ 5 takes place on Saturday, March 16, 2019 at The O2 Arena in London, England. The card streams live on ESPN+ starting 3pm ET.
