Next stop Anfield? Six things we learned at UFC Liverpool

Liverpool’s own Darren Till had a night to remember, and now he wants to fight at Anfield

The UFC’s famous octagon arrived in Liverpool for the very first time on Sunday night for UFC Fight Night 130, and local hero Darren Till made sure his fans were sent home happy. His unanimous decision win over number-one contender Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson delighted the local crowd and kick-started speculation about his next matchup.

Here are six of our biggest takeaways from a memorable night at the Echo Arena:

After the disappointment of Liverpool’s Champions League Final defeat the night before, the city’s sports fans were hoping local boy Till could give them something to cheer at the Echo Arena. And ‘The Gorilla’ delivered with the best performance of his career.

Liverpool’s Till walked to the arena to Neil Diamond’s ‘Sweet Caroline’ as 10,000 Scousers hailed the arrival of their hero, singing along to the karaoke classic.

And those same fans were dancing in the aisles and on their seats when Till earned a unanimous decision win over two-time world title challenger Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson in the main event.

Till showed the sort of composure and patience few have managed against the super-elusive ’Wonderboy’ and even dropped the South Carolina native in the final round as he announced himself as a legitimate contender in the UFC’s welterweight division.

And with former UFC middleweight world champion Michael Bisping seemingly set to retire in the near future, UK mixed martial arts needed a new superstar to pick up the mantle.

Till's detractors will no doubt point to his weight issues ahead of the fight, but if he can rectify those problems in his next matchup, the Brit may well find himself in a title fight at the end of the year, or early in 2019.

At the post-fight press conference, UFC president Dana White was emphatic about the next step for Till, saying the Brit’s next fight would definitely be in the UFC’s home town of Las Vegas, but when Till was quizzed about it, he had other ideas.

“I want to bring it to Anfield,” he told me.

“America’s amazing - I’ve never fought there. Why can’t I be the guy to bring it to a stadium here in Liverpool?

“I want a stadium event to happen - a pay-per-view at Anfield. I’ve had the dream of the Echo [and] that’s been done now. Now it’s Anfield.”

As his fight with Denmark’s Mads Burnell approached the mid-way point of the third and final round, British featherweight Arnold Allen was in trouble. Almost certainly two rounds down on the cards and struggling in the third, defeat looked almost inevitable.

But the Brit turned the bout on its head in seconds as he locked up a choke and forced the Danish grappler to tap out almost instantly. It was a stunning win, and reminiscent of how he won his octagon debut in Berlin back in 2015.

It improved Allen’s record to 13-1 and proved that, even when he looks to be in trouble, Arnold ‘Almighty’ Allen is never totally out of a fight.

British middleweight Darren ‘The Dentist’ Stewart knew his back was against the wall when he stepped into the octagon to face American submission ace Eric Spicely.

The Londoner was searching for his first win in the UFC at the fifth attempt after a no contest on his debut and three straight losses had him on the brink of being released.

But Stewart produced a superb performance to finish Spicely in the second round before breaking down in tears as the result was announced.

But now, with his first octagon win under his belt, the UFC may well make a repeat appointment with ‘The Dentist’ for an event later this year.

Birmingham’s Tom Breese has long been considered one of the top prospects to emerge from the UK in recent years, but when he stepped into the octagon on Sunday night, he had a point to prove - and he proved it.

Competing in a new weight class after moving up from welterweight to middleweight, Breese produced a superb performance of slick striking to stop four-time Australian judo Olympian Dan Kelly in just three and a half minutes in Liverpool.

The fight marked the Birmingham man’s return to action after almost two years away. His last bout saw him lose for the first time in his career, before a scheduled return at UFC London last year was called off when Breese withdrew in the dressing room.

His no-show in London sparked concerns about the talented Brummie’s fighting future, but he put those concerns to bed with a superb display in Liverpool on Sunday night.

“I’ve faced setbacks along the way, but hearing that crowd roar meant a lot,” he said after the fight.

“It was a fast fight so my plan is to be back out there again very soon.”

It wasn’t to be for ‘Meatball’ Molly McCann, who lost her UFC debut to Canadian Gillian Robertson. 'The Savage' put the Liverpudlian flyweight to sleep with a second-round rear-naked choke.

McCann looked absolutely crestfallen immediately after the defeat, but received pep-talks in the cage from octagon announcer Bruce Buffer, and Robertson’s coach (and former UFC) star Din Thomas, who had words of encouragement for the Liverpudlian.

The other British debutant on the night, welterweight Craig ‘The Thundercat’ White, acquitted himself well early on against Top 10 welterweight Neil Magny before being finished by TKO late in the opening round.

But UFC president White confirmed that the Brit, who stepped in on just 12 days’ notice to fight in the co-main event, would be given another opportunity in the octagon.

“He took this fight on short notice. We’ll definitely give him another opportunity,” said White.

“I love when guys step up like that and we appreciate him. He’ll be back.

“It’s tough enough getting those UFC jitters the first time. Let him shake them out and give him another opportunity to come in and perform again.”

WANT MORE?

Darren Till: What four years fighting in Brazil's toughest gyms taught me

Why MMA matters so much in Liverpool

The BBC MMA Show on 5 live