Colby Covington vs Darren Till mooted for UFC London

A fight between interim welterweight champion Colby Covington and Darren Till is being discussed as a possible main event for UFC London, according to reports.

Despite recently claiming the UFC should either give him a shot at 170lb champion Tyron Woodley or release him, the outspoken Covington is believed to be open to the idea of fighting the Liverpudlian kickboxer on March 16.

“They want me to fight Darren Till?” the 30-year-old asked MMA Fighting this week. “Fine, no big deal, I’ll fight him but I’m getting my undisputed championship title fight pay to fight him.”

Covington may soften ‘title shot or release’ stance

The American Top Team standout has been even more confrontational on social media than usual in recent weeks. Covington was enraged after the UFC overlooked an undisputed title match in favour of Woodley taking on number-two-ranked Kamaru Usman at UFC 235 in Las Vegas, even threatening to quit the promotion completely.

The report of the potential Till fight comes from MMA journalist Chris Taylor on Twitter. It’s possible that the prospect of having a main event bout against a top-ranked opponent may coax Covington out of his apparent standoff with the UFC.

I’m told the UFC is looking to book a welterweight fight between Colby Covington and Darren Till for #UFCLondon on March 17.

Covington has recently stated that he will hold out for his promised title shot, so we shall see what happens.

— Chris Taylor (@CTaylor_96) January 10, 2019

With just over two months to go until fight night, the organisation still needs to find a main event for the O2 Arena showpiece. A Till-Covington tilt would certainly appeal to UK fight fans, who saw their countryman defeat Stephen Thompson in Liverpool last year to earn his title shot against Woodley.

A win huge for either fighter

The Muay Thai striker would ultimately slip to the first defeat of his career in Dallas when granted the matchup in Texas last September, and he hasn’t competed since then. A victory over the interim champion on home turf would surely catapult the Team Kaobon product right back amongst title contention, while Till would also be a huge scalp for Covington, who would surely not be able to be denied a ‘full’ title shot any longer following a win.