UFC Liverpool: Was Darren Till’s win over Stephen Thompson scored right?

Should Till really have won the fight? Is 'octagon control' really a thing? And is there any other outcome besides Till-Thompson 2?

On this week’s BBC MMA Show, Dan Hardy, Nick Peet, and OJ Borg look back at Darren Till’s momentous victory over Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson at UFC Liverpool, and discuss whether the judges' unanimous decision was actually scored correctly.

But, before we get to that, Dan admits he still hasn’t come down from an epic night in the Echo Arena.

“My adrenaline is still going," he says. "I videoed Darren Till’s walkout on my phone, and I keep watching it back and sending it to people. It was just an incredible moment and, actually, one of my favourite MMA fights ever. It was an incredible contest between two of the most highly skilled martial artists that I’ve seen in the octagon."

Nick Peet, a Liverpudlian like Till, was on the edge of his seat for the whole weekend, not just Sunday night. "I was building it up to be the greatest weekend in Merseyside sport, with the football as well," he says.

He adds: "With the weigh-in fiasco, Liverpool losing in the Champions League final, and Molly McCann getting choked unconscious, I felt that the whole weekend had gone down the swanny - up until ‘Sweet Caroline’ started blazing out of the speakers [in the Echo Arena].

“As soon as that music kicked in, and we saw Till making that walk, and saw the confidence on his face, I got a weird sense of relief coming over me. I knew then, this is what it’s all about, this is why we’re here, we’ve got a star in our midst.

“It hadn’t been the perfect weekend for him or the city, but in that moment, when it mattered, he was ready. At 25 years of age, he took it all in his stride. And once the decision was read out, I was thinking: 'Wow, we’ve got 10 years at least of this kid competing. This is just the beginning, and the next 10 years are going to be one hell of a rollercoaster.'"

What made the fight so fascinating? After all, there was a total of just 71 strikes in the 25-minute contest.

Dan says the atmosphere in the arena carried the energy of the fight, even when the action in the octagon was cagey. “It was an amazing fight. The feeling of the fight was different [to the two fights between Stephen Thompson and Tyron Woodley]. It didn’t feel like this was a stalemate. I felt like both guys were constantly trying to create opportunities and lay traps for each other. It was a very high-level contest.”

Till’s unanimous decision win (49-46, 49-46, 48-47) has been ferociously debated online, with a number of commentators questioning whether the right man won the fight.

"Ninety per cent of the journalists you’re talking about are American and weren’t at the event," says Nick, who had Till ahead going into the last round. "They were watching it on TV, where the US broadcaster (Fox) was supporting Stephen Thompson. The big thing is that it was very close. It really was the smallest of margins. It was such a close fight to call.

"I thought 'Wonderboy' had to do something in the last round to steal it, and the opposite happened. Till did something big in the last round, and for me that closed the show."

Dan adds: “I scored the first three rounds for 'Wonderboy' - and it was difficult to score those rounds because very, very little happened. When that happens, you go further back into the scoring criteria, and go back to octagon control and aggression. Darren Till was clearly very aggressive, but for me he wasn’t looking for finishing shots. It wasn’t effective aggression.”

Instead, Dan was focused on the footwork of the fighters to see who had the upper hand.

“Every time there was a shift in direction in the footwork, it was Till that was reacting to 'Wonderboy', not the other way around," he says. "So even though Darren Till had the octagon behind him, I would say that 'Wonderboy' was in control of the octagon."

But can octagon control really be counted on the scorecards? John McCarthy, one of the UFC's most respected referees, tweeted the following after the fight: “Sorry but controlling the octagon does not give you the round. Wonderboy landed the cleaner harder shots in the first three rounds."

“I love Big John, and have a massive amount of respect for him, but octagon control is part of the scoring criteria, and if the striking is so low and so even that’s it’s difficult to take into account, then you have to fall back on that criteria,” says Dan.

While Dan believes Thompson had the edge in the first three rounds, he believes Till's tactics enabled him to set a trap in the latter stages of the fight. "Going into the fourth round I had 'Wonderboy' 10-9 in all three rounds, but I gave the fourth to Darren Till, 10-9," Dan says. "Into the fifth round, now Wonderboy is really tired, and he’s expended so much energy, Darren was finally able to get him into a position when he can land his left hand.

"And because that was the main shot that was landed in the entire fight, the only concussive blow in the entire fight, and 'Wonderboy' was dropped, that’s a 10-8 round for me. So I actually had it as a draw. I scored it that on the night, I watched it back today, and I scored it as actually the same."

So does this mean there has to be a rematch on the cards?

"I’d love to see this fight again, but I don’t think we need to see it next,” says Nick. "A rematch would be very similar again: another phenomenal chess match, but there are other fights out there for both these guys."

While Tyron Woodley still holds the UFC welterweight title, Till has now moved up to be the second-best challenger in the division rankings, with Thompson dropping to third. Rafael dos Anjos is now the number one contender, and fights fourth-ranked Colby Covington for the interim title at UFC 225 on 9 June.

So Till could be in line for a title shot soon, but UFC president Dana White says the British star is “going to Vegas next", pouring cold water on the idea of Till getting a shot at the belt at his beloved Anfield.

Spoilsport.

MORE UFC & MMA:

Listen to the BBC MMA Show podcast

Pioneer, salesman, record breaker: Michael Bisping is an MMA legend

Two big nights out in Liverpool on the city's huge sporting weekend