There are several key narratives heading in UFC Vegas 36. Let’s take a look at those storylines and the fighters at the center of them
Can Darren Till recapture his welterweight potential at middleweight?
After his first-round destruction of perennial contender Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone, UK welterweight Darren Till was on the verge of superstardom. Then undefeated, the 28-year-old drew a matchup with multi-time title challenger Stephen Thompson in what turned out to be a title eliminator. A controversial decision win over Thompson in his native England ensured that Till would fight Tyron Woodley for the title soon after, but Till’s luck would run cold.
He suffered his first professional loss to the champion by second-round submission, then was knocked out by “Bad Mother F*cker” titleholder Jorge Masvidal in his subsequent outing. The second consecutive loss prompted a move to middleweight for Till, who scored a split-decision over Kelvin Gastelum in his first UFC outing at 185 pounds. But a loss to former champion Robert Whittaker returned him to the loss column in his most recent outing, making it three losses in his last four fights.
Saturday, Till headlines a daytime UFC event against Derek Brunson, a middleweight contender on a wholly opposite run.
Brunson, 37, has won four straight fights including victories over notable talents in Ian Heinisch, Edmen Shabazyan, and Kevin Holland. A dangerous striker whose career losses have only come to the elite of the division, Brunson will look to turn back Till in a late push for a title shot.
Can Darren Till turn back the clock to 2017-2018 and recapture his welterweight potential in his new division?
Is Paddy Pimblett the next big thing?
A recipient of three UFC contract offers, UK. superstar Paddy Pimblett will finally make his promotional debut Saturday at UFC Vegas 36.
Pimblett, 26, is a veritable star whose savvy grappling chops are only matched by his abilities on the microphone. Cage Warriors was the longtime home of Pimblett, who was one of the promotion’s most recognizable faces since his debut in 2013. He captured and defended the Cage Warriors featherweight championship once held by MMA superstar Conor McGregor, before moving up to lightweight and becoming a consistent main event hand.
A two-fight win streak, with back-to-back first-round finishes, has him entering the Octagon for the first time in the midst of another surge. In Las Vegas, he’ll face Italian-Brazilian Luigi Vendramini. A 25-year-old finisher with a 1-2 record in the Octagon. Vendramini’s UFC tenure has seen him alternate between losses and wins against Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos, Jessin Ayari, and Fares Ziam.
While Pimblett has several notable names on his resume, his evident self-confidence and willingness to share it has spawned a mass of doubters and haters. On Saturday afternoon, Pimblett will have the chance to silence his detractors with a statement performance.
How will Jack Shore react to his opponent carousel?
When a UFC matchup has a competitor fall out of the fight — whether due to visa issues, injury, or an is all too common COVID-19 protocol issue — fans are often quick to acknowledge the readiness and gumption of a late-notice replacement. Too rarely though, do fans appreciate the fighter taking on the short-notice foe.
Such is the case with Welshman Jack Shore, who has signed a contract to face three different opponents at UFC Vegas 36. The undefeated prospect has been sensational through three fights in the UFC. After signing with the promotion following a title reign in Cage Warriors. He holds wins over Noehlin Hernandez, Aaron Phillips, and Hunter Azure in the Octagon.
After initial opponent Said Nurmagomedov withdrew, Shore was then slated to face LFA champion Zviad Lazishvili, but as Lazishvili has now also withdrawn, Shore will share the Octagon with The Ultimate Fighter Season 29 cast member Liudvik Sholinian.
Sholinian, 31, was Team Ortega’s third pick on the show. He bested New England prospect, Mitch Raposo, by unanimous decision in the opening round, but was then on the wrong end of a decision loss to eventual middleweight tournament winner Ricky Turcios in the second round of the show.
While Sholinian is undoubtedly facing a challenge in having to prepare for three distinct opponents as well as handle the mental drain of such a chaotic lead-up to the fight. How will Jack Shore react to this opponent’s carousel, and will he be able to keep his undefeated record intact?
Which Khalil Rountree will show at UFC Vegas 36?
Few fighters in recent MMA history have been as hit or miss as Khalil Rountree.
A former finalist of TUF Season 23, the 31-year-old Rountree burst onto the scene in 2018 with a thunderous knockout of kickboxing legend Gokhan Saki. Though he held a prior technical knockout victory over Paul Craig, the Saki victory had fans excited about Rountree like never before. Unfortunately, he would run into the buzzsaw that was Johnny Walker in his next fight and suffer a destructive knockout loss.
But Rountree’s subsequent outing, a decision win over Eryk Anders replete with multiple knockdowns, garnered a near-mythic reputation akin to sea level Cain Velasquez or a motivated BJ Penn. After taking his training camp to Thailand, Rountree’s striking improvements were evident and his Muay Thai looked simply phenomenal.
The momentum wouldn’t last, however, as Rountree suffered back-to-back losses to Ion Cutelaba and Marcin Prachnio in what were decidedly underwhelming performances. The former being a first-round TKO and the latter a unanimous decision.
Saturday, Rountree faces Englishman, and former Cage Warriors champion, Modestas Bukauskas, who after winning his UFC debut emphatically has lost back-to-back as well.
UFC Vegas 36 takes place on September 4 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event begins at 1:30 pm ET with preliminary action and is then followed by the main card at 4 pm ET. The entire event will air exclusively on streaming service ESPN+
–Field Level Media
