Darren Till and Luke Rockhold are ready to go. Probably too much.
This Saturday, Till and Rockhold will face off in an eight-round boxing match for the Misfits Bridgerweight title (205 pounds) in the main event of Misfits 22. The two former UFC fighters have already been hit several times this week.
But before anything goes down in the main event, Misfits Boxing 22 also has the Marquee Undercard battle. In the co-main event, former UFC interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson will take on Salt Papi in a six-round interim middleweight boxing title fight, making his influencer boxing debut as influencer instigator Diron Danis fights Warren Spencer for the inauguration Misfit Mama title.
On a weekend in the absence of the UFC, Misfits certainly brings a lot of notable action to the table.
where: AO Arena in Manchester, UK
when: Saturday, August 30th. The early reserve cards for the three matches begin at 1pm and can be seen in MMA Fighting, followed by the main cards of the eight fights air at 2pm on Dazn Pay-Per-View.
Darren to the Luke Rockhold
mesh: One of my favorites about combat sports is how to give matchups that speak to the bigger themes of the fundamental aspects of human nature, not just the fighter itself. Shakespeare is Shakespeare in the ring. Not so much like we will finally answer the eternal question on a Saturday night.
When he was an MMA fighter, Till was one of the most notable fighters of his generation, a man with the ability to fail upwards, and he ended up indefinitely. Until he lost five of his final six fights in the UFC – All-Star Kelvin Gastherm failed as his only victory made a fellow decision, but none of his losses seemed to hold back his upward momentum. He continued to spend time with great opportunities only in the flounder in actual battles. Rockhold’s UFC career was actually very similar to Till’s, but at least he was a former champion. The champions get some leeway.
As for Rockhold, this is a man who was extremely talented and reached the top of the mountain but was aggressively falling and unable to find his footing ever since. He tries to put it together in MMA and tries out BKFC, but he tries boxing despite boxing being the much worse aspect of his MMA game. Normally I would predict that this would end badly for him, but in Till, isn’t it?
Honestly, it’s hard to feel confident in this, but I think I’ll go with him as there’s no good chin in Rockhold and his boxing is always bad.
Martin: Based on experience, Darren appears to have a clear advantage as he has actually focused on anything other than boxing for the past few years, despite winning several times over Anthony Taylor and Darren Stewart. Till has always been a quality striker in his UFC career, but based solely on accomplishments and experience, Rockhold is the toughest opponent he has ever faced.
Say what you do about how his UFC career ended, but Rockhold was a champion and top middleweight for most of his career. Things didn’t go very well for Rockhold when he attempted a naked knuckle fight, but he got a brutal knockout for Joe Schilling in a karate combat battle. What does that mean for boxing? Well, not that much, but Rockhold is still a significant step up in the Till competition.
That being said, it’s hard not to turn his path when it comes to predictions, at least until he spends more time in the boxing ring. Tar may not be elite and a knockout is likely unlikely, but he is enough to overtake Rockhold in six or eight rounds (whatever he ultimately decides after verbal sparring the length of Thursday’s fight).
Tony Ferguson vs. Saltpapi
mesh: Speaking of who hasn’t won a fight since President Donald Trump’s first president, “El Kukui” has actually been on eight straight wins in an influencer boxing match with a young man who can actually stroll around. you know.
I always thought it would be fiercely faster when the end came for Ferguson, but I am amazed at how calm I was. And that will continue here. Ferguson is not an elite MMA boxer and his chin is definitely a compromise. Even when he was fat, I thought Saltpapi was probably the most naturally talented influencer boxer, and now he takes it seriously. Ferguson fans hoping for one last good memory will be extremely sad on Saturday.
Martin: This may end up as the saddest battle of the entire card, as Tony Ferguson somehow falls into a social influencer called Saltpapi in his boxing debut, and the entire MMA community may cry at once. Ferguson left the UFC on eight straight wins along the way, including a rather brutal knockout loss, but even at his absolute worst case scenario, if this is an MMA fight, he should walk Salt Papi.
Unfortunately for Ferguson, this is a boxing match, so it’s a bit even out the odds, and Saltpapi shows a legitimate knockout power. However, Saltpapi loses the only time he faces an actual Profighter (Anthony Taylor) and refuses to believe Ferguson is not in enough tanks to get the job done.
It could be an ugly fight, but I’m still riding with Ferguson.
Dillon Danis vs Warren Spencer
mesh: Well, I think Misfit has finally found someone Dillon Danis can fall.
Danis was once a legally talented grappler, for all his whims, shenanigans and nonsense. Actual world-class talent, such as “talented to influencers.” Warren Spencer may be world class in some things, but I don’t know, but I’m not one of them, whatever those things are. Spencer is a mid-level influencer boxer, which is an MMA fight. Danis intends to take him down and make him submit with a relatively easy time. In fact, my only prediction about this is that it’s so easy for Danis, he’s to play with his food, make jokes around the bunch, and try hard to get over the fans and more heels.
Martin: Dillon Danis is much more famous in trolling than he’s fought over the past few years – never talk about a boxing match with Logan Paul again – but he’s actually a really good grappler, and he takes on the striker without a single MMA fight on his record. That’s really bad for him.
Danis probably doesn’t face much threat there either, so expect to play with his feet a little. As soon as Spencer hits the ground, Danis twists him like a pretzel, unconsciously forces him to tap or suffocate him.
The only problem is how quickly this happens, but Danis probably does it with quick fashion.
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