<
>

UFC Fight Night: Till vs. Masvidal -- how to watch plus full analysis

ESPN Illustration

Darren Till and Leon Edwards, two of the finest fighters in England and avowed rivals, will be in action Saturday in London, although in separate bouts. Till headlines the UFC Fight Night against Jorge Masvidal, while Edwards faces Gunnar Nelson in the co-main event. The fights are on ESPN+, with the main card starting at 4 p.m. ET, prelims at 1 p.m.

Watch the fights live on ESPN+.

Till is coming off an unsuccessful challenge of welterweight champion Tyron Woodley, the Brit's first defeat in 19 pro fights. Masvidal has lost two in a row.

Edwards is on a six-fight win streak, while Nelson has won three of his last four.

Also on the card: Volkan Oezdemir will try to get back on track at light heavyweight against unbeaten Dominick Reyes.

Don't have ESPN+? Get it here.

Have ESPN+ and want to link your account across devices? Learn how here.

Five things to look for (beyond the main event)

ESPN+, 1 p.m. ET

Main eventer's early interest

Darren Till's main event won't get underway for several hours, but he will be engaged with the fight card right from the opening bout, which features his friend and training partner. Mike Grundy is 11-1 going into his featherweight bout with Nad Narimani (12-2). But even though it will be Grundy's UFC debut, it will not be the first time he will be walking out to the Octagon, as he cornered Till for his welterweight title challenge against Tyron Woodley last September at UFC 228 in Dallas.

A healthy return

Priscila Cachoeira was unbeaten going into her UFC debut early last year, but the Brazilian flyweight came out of that fight with her first loss and a devastating knee injury. While being thoroughly dominated by Valentina Shevchenko, who would go on to become the UFC's first women's champ at 125 pounds later in the year, Cachoeira (8-1) tore both the meniscus and ACL in her right knee. Now she is recovered from surgery and returning for what appears to be a much more evenly matched booking. Cachoeira faces Molly McCann (7-2), who is also coming off a loss.

play
1:46
Flawless fight-camp leaves Molly McCann ready for UFC London

Coming off the back of a debut submission defeat, Liverpool's Molly McCann has been working on his grappling ahead of her fight with Priscila Cachoeira

ESPN+, 4 p.m. ET

Trash talk gone astray

At January's press conference in London to promote this card, main event fighters Darren Till (17-1-1) and Jorge Masvidal (32-13) were onstage, as was one of the co-main combatants, Leon Edwards (16-3). And the trash talk was flying ... between the Brits, Edwards and Till, with Masvidal just sitting there mostly in silence. Edwards, who faces Gunnar Nelson (17-3-1), was outspoken in his criticism of the main event matchmaking. "This isn't the f---ing fight to make, him and Jorge. It was me vs. him," Edwards said of Till. "Who is the best welterweight in the U.K.?"

London calling

There are plenty of British fighters on the card, as you might expect from an event in London. But there's just one (sort of) London vs. London fight. Welterweight Danny Roberts (16-3) was born in London, although he moved to Bristol in the southwest of England at a young age and still fights out of that city. He faces Claudio Silva (12-1), who was born in Rio de Janeiro and moved to London 12 years ago. Silva has his own Brazilian jiu-jitsu dojo there.

He can't get a break

Two fights ago, Volkan Oezdemir was competing for the light heavyweight championship. He lost that January 2018 bout to Daniel Cormier, then dropped October's fight with Anthony Smith. Time for a tuneup fight to get back on track? That's not what Oezdemir (15-3) is getting. He faces undefeated Dominick Reyes (10-0), who has been swiftly moving up the 205-pound ranks with six finishes in his last eight fights.

Top stories

Shaved eyebrows, watch parties and dawn prayers: The challenge of being an MMA fan in the UK

How big can MMA get in the U.K.?

Darren Till, Jorge Masvidal to meet in main event of UFC Fight Night

How big can Darren Till get?