'Cowboy' Cerrone obliterated by flurry of punches

Englishman Darren Till has announced himself to the UFC world with a brutal first round victory over Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone at UFC Fight Night 118.

Till called for a top-ranked opponent following his June victory over Bojan Velickovic and the UFC responded by giving him a main event assignment against the man known as 'Cowboy'.

On Saturday night in Poland, the 24-year-old Scouser used the opportunity to launch himself into title contention by icing the all-action veteran inside the first five minutes.

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Till has been telling anyone that will listen that he's a future champion since he arrived in the UFC a little over two years ago and in Gdansk he put his fists where his mouth is.

There was no hesitation, no sign of nerves from Till — just the same forward pressure and startling power he's shown throughout his UFC run.

Cerrone seemed unsettled from the jump, unable to contend with Till's pressure or find his range and as the Liverpool man walked him back into the cage, the perennial contender had no exit strategy.

'Cowboy' ended ended up getting tagged, dropped and stopped in a brutal flurry of punches from the Brit.

It was a blistering performance for Till and absolutely the best possible outcome the UFC could have hoped for – a star-making turn for a brash, young, unbeaten fighter on the up.

Till's record now stands at 16 wins and one draw from 17 fights, with four of those wins and the draw in the UFC.

Not only did Till collect the biggest win of his career, but he also took steps to set up his next bout as well, using his post-fight interview to call out 'Platinum' Mike Perry, who was seated ringside and engaged in a heated back and forth with the British upstart.

As much as it would be an explosive encounter, one could argue Till made a mistake by not setting his sights higher than the popular, but unproven Perry.

Particularly, given there are a number of high-profile welterweight matchups on the calendar before the close of the year.

Regardless of what comes next, Saturday night was a breakthrough performance for Till and makes the confident Merseysider a dangerous dark horse contender in the 170-pound ranks.