Darren Till vs. Jorge Masvidal to headline UFC London

Darren Till isn’t moving up to 185 pounds just yet.

The 26-year-old Liverpool native will fight Jorge Masvidal (32-13) in the welterweight main event of UFC London at The O2 Arena on March 16. MMA Fighting’s Guilherme Cruz and Marc Raimondi confirmed the bout with sources following an initial report by ESPN.

Till (17-1-1) had previously mentioned wanting to move up to the middleweight division following a failed bid to unseat 170-pound champion Tyron Woodley at UFC 228 in September, but he appeared to change his mind after a recent social media exchange with Masvidal.

Prior to being submitted by Woodley, Till was unbeaten in six UFC appearances with wins over veteran Donald Cerrone and two-time title challenger Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson. Till’s victory against Thompson headlined an event in Till’s hometown of Liverpool, England, on May 27, 2018.

Masvidal was rumored to be fighting Nick Diaz at UFC 235, but that matchup was eventually shot down by UFC president Dana White. “Gamebred” was unable to get a fight booked last year and his most recent outing was a unanimous decision loss on Nov. 4, 2017, to Thompson at UFC 217. He has lost his last two fights and is 9-6 in the UFC competing in the welterweight and lightweight divisions.

UFC London will be broadcast live on the ESPN+ streaming service. The welterweight co-main event features Leon Edwards vs. Gunnar Nelson.