Tyron Woodley’s next title defense won’t come against Colby Covington after all. Woodley is set to defend his welterweight strap against undefeated contender Darren Till on September 8 in the main event of UFC 228. MMA Fighting confirmed the news Tuesday following an initial report by ESPN. The fight has yet to be formally signed, sources said. Covington was the assumed next man in line for Woodley after winning the interim welterweight title last month with a decision victory over Rafael dos Anjos, however it appears the needs of the UFC’s busy pay-per-view schedule were not willing to wait for him. Covington underwent surgery on Tuesday to correct a nasal issue, per ESPN, and was not able to make the Sept. 8 date for UFC 228. UFC president Dana White told ESPN that Covington’s interim title will now be stripped as soon as Woodley vs. Till is officially underway, a scenario that closely mirrors UFC 223’s lightweight situation with Tony Ferguson. Woodley (18-3-1) is fast approaching the two-year anniversary of the night he captured the UFC welterweight strap with a first-round knockout of Robbie Lawler in July 2016. “T-Wood” has since defended or retained his title three times: Twice against Stephen Thompson, the first of which was a majority draw; and once with a unanimous decision over Demian Maia. Woodley underwent successful shoulder surgery following the Maia fight and has been out of action since. Till (17-0-1), meanwhile, emerged on the UFC’s welterweight scene in explosive fashion late last year with a first-round knockout of Donald Cerrone at UFC Gdansk. The unbeaten Englishman followed up that performance by taking a narrow unanimous decision win over Thompson at UFC Liverpool, although Till missed weight by three pounds for the contest. UFC 228 takes place at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. A women’s flyweight title bout between Nicco Montano and Valentina Shevchenko co-headlines the event. Poll Did the UFC make the right call? This poll is closed 52% Yes (3949 votes) 47% No, it should’ve waited for Woodley vs. Covington (3517 votes) 7466 votes total Vote Now<doc-sep>LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - MAY 25: Darren Till of England interacts with media during the UFC Ultimate Media Day at BT Convention Centre on May 25, 2018 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images) A video has surfaced showing current UFC welterweight title contender Darren Till in an altercation outside of a bar in Liverpool. Darren Till is in hot water this week and it’s just getting worse for the welterweight title contender. A video surfaced online which appears to show Till in a fist fight in the streets of Liverpool. The Snapchat video (which was uploaded online here) appears to show Till and several other men on the streets outside of a nightclub fighting. Till appears to hit someone in the face, then follow and kick him as he’s walking away. There is currently no word on how the altercation started or the identities of the other individuals involved in the scuffle. This is the second time this week that the spotlight has been on Till for bad behavior. Earlier this week he was interviewed about his upcoming bout with welterweight champion Tyron Woodley and his comments had many up in arms. “You can’t have worries outside of this game,” Till told reporters. “I’ve got a girlfriend who’s seven months pregnant, I don’t really care. I’ve got a daughter in Brazil who I haven’t seen for a year, I don’t really care. I just care about legacy and greatness. That’s what I’m in this for.” He later clarified his comments a few days later, but the damage had already been done. “It’s all about being selfish now until the eighth of September,” Till said while on the Obviously Fight Talk podcast. “It’s funny, I haven’t even really read what people are saying but my girlfriend is sitting next to me right now, laughing. It comes to sort of right to stuff like that when my girlfriend is laughing and it’s offending grown men and grown women. That’s just funny s**t. It doesn’t affect them.” Till is meant to face-off with Woodley in Sept. despite missing weight in his last fight, leading many to wonder if he deserved the shot over the interim champion, Colby Covington. Bad behavior by UFC fighters isn’t something new, former two-division champion Conor McGregor was arrested for throwing a dolly through a bus window and Nate Diaz has been involved in multiple cageside brawls, but both are currently scheduled for fights. Neither Till nor the UFC has yet to comment on the video. UFC 228 takes place on Sept. 8, 2018, live from American Airlines Center in Dallas, TX.<doc-sep>The Telegraph Two of the surprise packages of this clay-court season have been British – initially Dan Evans, who made a deep run in Monte Carlo, and more lately Cameron Norrie, who played his second final in three weeks on Sunday. Unfortunately, Norrie wasn’t able to land a maiden ATP title in Lyon. But then he was up against Stefanos Tsitsipas, who has been the dominant force of 2021 outside the slams, and now stands at No 1 in the table of most rankings points gained since January 1. Nevertheless, it had been a hugely creditable effort for Norrie to go this far, especially when you consider that he took out top seed Dominic Thiem on Thursday, and then trounced big-hitting Russian Karen Khachanov in Saturday’s semi-final, losing only two games in the process. Norrie has come to clay late in his career, but it feels like this is developing into his favourite surface. He has one of the heaviest left-handed forehands in the game, loaded with top-spin, and uses it like a miniature version of Rafael Nadal. The result has been a tally of 14 wins and only four losses since he began his European clay-court swing in Barcelona. So while the French Open, which starts next Sunday, has traditionally been a graveyard of British hopes, there are reasons to hope that this year’s event could deliver some more positive results. Norrie’s previous final in Estoril had been a nervewracking affair which he eventually lost on a deciding-set tie-break to the more experienced Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas. Sunday was more straightforward for Tsitsipas, who needed only 69 minutes to hammer home a 6-3, 6-3 victory. It was Tsitsipas’ second title of the clay-court sequence, after he won Monte Carlo in mid-April, taking out Evans in the semi-final along the way. He has become a serious contender to upset the establishment – specifically Nadal and Novak Djokovic – at Roland Garros over the next few weeks. “I felt in good shape from the beginning of the tournament,” said Tsitsipas afterwards. “I am proud of today’s match, I knew it would be a difficult one against Cameron, who has been showing great tennis this week. He has been winning against good players and showing what the left hand can do on clay. “It was not an easy match today. I had to handle the nerves and I am proud of my performance and the way I stayed focused towards my goal.” On this year’s results, meanwhile, both Evans and Norrie stand among the world’s 20 most successful men. Evans is at No 16 and Norrie No 14. The next challenge for them both is to convert that ATP Tour form into a deep run at a major.<doc-sep>
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. UFC 228 takes place Sept. 8 at American Airlines Center in Dallas and also features a women’s flyweight title bout between champ Nicco Montano and Valentina Shevchenko. Update: It’s official. Woodley vs. Till headlines UFC 228.