Former UFC welterweight title challenger Darren Till and new UFC welterweight contender Ben Askren have been jawing at each other on social media for weeks, slowly constructing one of the division’s best rivalries.
As luck would have it, they’re both currently in London, as Till is set to battle Jorge Masvidal in the UFC London main event, and Askren is on the ground as a guest fighter.
Given that they’re both in The Big Smoke for the card, it was only a matter of time before they crossed paths. And thankfully, the UFC had cameras rolling at the time of their inevitable meeting.
See Ben Askren and Darren Till cross paths at the top of this post.
Askren also detailed this run-in with Till in a quick interview, which can be seen below:
Provided Darren Till gets by Jorge Masvidal in the UFC London main event tomorrow night, which is far from a certainty, all signs point to a fight between him and Ben Askren in the not too distant future.
Here’s the full lineup for the anticipated UFC London card, which will air entirely on ESPN+ (get a free trial here):
170 lbs.: Darren Till vs. Jorge Masvidal 170 lbs.: Leon Edwards vs. Gunnar Nelson 205 lbs.: Volkan Oezdemir vs. Dominick Reyes 135 lbs.: Jose Quinonez vs. Nathaniel Wood 170 lbs.: Danny Roberts vs. Claudio Silva 185 lbs.: Jack Marshman vs. John Phillips
145 lbs.: Arnold Allen vs. Jordan Rinaldi 155 lbs.: Marc Diakiese vs. Joseph Duffy 205 lbs.: Nicolae Negumereanu vs. Saparbeg Safarov 185 lbs.: Tom Breese vs. Ian Heinisch 145 lbs.: Danny Henry vs. Dan Ige 125 lbs.: Priscila Cachoeira vs. Molly McCann 145 lbs.: Mike Grundy vs. Nad Narimani
Do you think we’ll see Darren Till and Ben Askren fight this year, or will Jorge Masvidal play the spoiler?
This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 3/15/2019.
Former UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley has responded to critics of his upcoming fight against Merab Dvalishvili.
‘Sugar’ recently signed a deal to face ‘The Machine’ in the main event of UFC 316 in June. The bout will be a rematch of their prior meeting at The Sphere last September, which saw Merab Dvalishvili largely dominate the then-bantamweight champion. Post-fight, Sean O’Malley revealed a litany of injuries that hampered his performance, and called for a rematch. Earlier this month, Dana White granted his wish for a second crack at Dvalishvili.
UFC featherweight Lerone Murphy has responded to critics of his recent victory over Josh Emmett.
‘The Miracle’ returned to the octagon in the main event of UFC Vegas 105 over the weekend. Back for the first time since a unanimous decision victory over Dan Ige, the undefeated featherweight met Josh Emmett. For his part, the 40-year-old entered the bout off a brutal first-round knockout victory over Bryce Mitchell in December 2023. For Lerone Murphy, the opportunity to face the former title challenger was a big one.
Aaron Pico is reportedly set to make his UFC debut against Movsar Evloev in May.
The 27-year-old was one of the faces of Bellator for nearly a decade. Having signed with the promotion when he was a teenager, Aaron Pico struggled a bit upon his debut. The featherweight was 4-3 at one point in his career, with all of his losses coming by way of finish. However, in 2020, Pico turned things around, and he never looked back.
Sean O’Malley is one of the most popular fighters in the UFC right now, but his reign as the promotion’s bantamweight champ didn’t last long.
O’Malley won the bantamweight belt with a knockout of Aljamain Sterling in 2023. After defending his belt with a lopsided decision win over Marlon “Chito” Vera early last year, he then lost the belt last September, suffering a decision loss to Georgia’s Merab Dvalishvili.
UFC CEO Dana White has a long list of incredible business successes on his resume. However, the UFC boss has also been involved in a few projects that flopped, and his long-time nemesis Oscar De La Hoya isn’t going to let him forget it.
De La Hoya, a former boxing champ turned boxing promoter, has been beefing with White for years. The former boxer fired his latest salvo at White soon after we learned the UFC boss will be starting his own boxing promotion with Saudi Arabia’s Turki Alalshikh.
Paddy Pimblett is hoping to get a chance to face Ilia Topuria.
Pimblett and Topuria have had some beef over the years. “The Baddy” even threw a hand sanitizer bottle at “La Leyenda” in a fighter hotel lobby. The two have continued to trade barbs, and it’s left many wondering if a matchup will become a reality in the future.
It’s no secret that Donald Trump is a fight fan. The US President frequently mingles with UFC stars, and often appears at the promotion’s pay-per-view events. As it turns out, his fascination with the martial arts runs in the family, as his daughter Ivanka Trump trains in a form of jiu jitsu.
Ivanka does her training under the Valente brothers in North Miami Beach, Florida. If you’re curious about her skill level, you’re in luck. The gym she practices at recently posted some footage of her in training.
Robert Whittaker believes there is one important factor when it comes to the potential outcome of Alexander Volkanovski vs. Diego Lopes.
Volkanovski and Lopes will collide in the UFC 314 headliner. The bout will be contested for the vacant UFC Featherweight Championship. Champion Ilia Topuria is moving on from 145 pounds, and the title will officially become vacant once Volkanovski vs. Lopes begins in Miami.
