UFC Vegas 36: Brunson vs Till is set for Sept. 4 at UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada. Every fight on the card brings the potential for success and failure that could have significant implications for the combatants’ immediate futures. Here are the fighters with the most to gain and the most to lose on Saturday afternoon.
Most to gain at UFC Vegas 36
Derek Brunson
While Derek Brunson has earned the designation as “gatekeeper” among a large subset of MMA fans, perhaps a more accurate description of his UFC tenure would be that of a fighter just tantalizingly short of reaching the middleweight elite.
A heavy-handed striker with over a decade in the sport, Brunson’s only UFC losses have come to Yoel Romero, Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, Robert Whittaker, Anderson Silva, and Israel Adesanya — a whopping three current or former champions and two perennial contenders.
At 37, Brunson’s current four-fight winning streak may well represent his last chance at an elusive UFC title shot. Entering Saturday’s main event clash with UK star Darren Till, Brunson certainly is among those with the most to gain.
With a win over the brash Liverpudlian — who after a blistering rise to relevancy and contention has scuffled to a 1-3 record in his last four fights — Brunson could position himself in line for a UFC championship bid. Of course, the aforementioned Whittaker is likely next to face Adesanya in a rematch, but Brunson’s own second chance could be assured with a dominant performance Saturday afternoon.
Sergey Spivak
Moldova’s Sergey Spivak finds himself in a high-profile fight on short notice thanks to another fighter’s withdrawal. The 28-year-old heavyweight is now set to face fast-rising Englishman Tom Aspinall in the night’s co-main event. Stepping in for Sergei Pavlovich, due to the Russian’s visa issues in the lead-up to the fight.
Aspinall, 28, is widely considered to be among the UK’s top prospects. For a region that has struggled to produce top-flight heavyweights like it’s done for the lighter weight classes, Aspinall is a fighter with extensive expectations and hope behind him. Since signing with the UFC, he has gone 3-0 with three stoppages. The most recent of which came against former UFC champion Andrei Arlovski in February.
Spivak, too, is on a three-fight UFC win streak. Signing with the UFC a year prior to Aspinall, Spivak has won four of his six Octagon appearances, with the lone losses coming to power-puncher Walt Harris and eighth-ranked Marcin Tybura.
After stunning division stalwart Aleksei Oleinik in his most recent outing, Spivak enters the Aspinall fight with the ability to extend his winning streak to four, but perhaps more importantly, to steal Aspinall’s hype with an emphatic performance in a valued place on the card.
Most to lose at UFC Vegas 36
Darren Till
It has been a weird few years inside the Octagon for Darren Till. After rocketing up the welterweight rankings and into a title shot with Tyron Woodley three years ago, he has gone just 1-2 since falling in his lone title fight opportunity.
The back-to-back losses to Woodley and Jorge Masvidal pushed led Till to take his talents to middleweight, where he started off on a good foot with a split-decision win over top-10 fighter Kelvin Gastelum. His last fight, however, was a decision loss to former division king Robert Whittaker.
Four fizzled fight bookings later, Till will face fifth-ranked Brunson in the headliner Saturday, in a bout with major implications. The seventh-ranked Till will not only look to advance to a winning record at middleweight but also break into the division’s top five.
While Till’s incredible charisma and brash humor have earned him one of the largest fan bases of any UFC fighter, the Brunson fight represents a near must-win scenario for the native of Liverpool. With a loss, Till would move to 1-4 in his last five and likely fall even further down the divisional rankings. For a fighter whose recent callouts include champion Israel Adesanya, Till is a fighter with a lot to lose if things don’t go his way inside the cage on Saturday.
The loser in Khalil Rountree vs Modestas Bukauskas fight
Both Khalil Rountree and Modestas Bukauskas find themselves in unenviable positions entering their light heavyweight clash at UFC Vegas 36: Brunson vs Till.
Rountree, 31, has lost two straight since a pivotal victory over Eryk Anders in 2019, which had MMA fans in awe of the progression made with his striking. The recent losses brought his UFC record to 4-5 with one no-contest. A far cry from what The Ultimate Fighter Season 23 finalist would have hoped. Rountree has been an inconsistent fighter to date, but when he is on, he’s among the most dangerous strikers in the division. When he struggles, it can make for a tough night at the office for “The War Horse.”
Bukauskas, 27, signed with the UFC in 2020 after winning seven straight fights by stoppage, a phenomenal run that included capturing and defending the Cage Warriors light heavyweight championship. After a first-round TKO win in his UFC debut, things haven’t gone the Lithuanian-Englishman’s way. As he has lost back-to-back bouts against Jimmy Crute and former Rountree opponent Michal Oleksiejczuk.
Both Rountree and Bukauskas find themselves with their backs against the wall, as no fighter in the UFC wants to leave the Octagon with three consecutive losses. Each competitor will leave it all on the line on Saturday, but the loser of this bout will exit the Octagon wondering if they may get another chance in that fabled cage.
–Field Level Media
