For the first time the UFC Octagon planted roots in Liverpool, England, the organization came with a very simple plan: put forth its young and talented local southpaw—Darren Till—in a showcase, and let the money tree germinate. On paper, the idea made plenty of sense; it was the same path they followed with Irishman Conor McGregor, and that seemed to work out far beyond their wildest dreams.
Till may still have a brilliant future ahead of him as a draw, a headliner, perhaps even a champion, but UFC Liverpool didn’t quite function in the way in which it was intended.