John Kavanagh: Gunnar Nelson vs. Darren Till offered for UFC Fight Night 127 headliner

According to SBG Ireland head coach John Kavanagh, a welterweight fight between his charge Gunnar Nelson and Darren Till is possible to headline UFC Fight Night 127, which takes place March 17 at The O2 in London and streams entirely on UFC Fight Pass.

Kavanagh announced the potential bout today on Twitter, adding Nelson (16-3-1 MMA, 7-3 UFC) has agreed to face the surging Till (16-0-1 MMA, 4-0-1 UFC).

Via Twitter:

“I’m reminded of the Thatch fight, big strong striker but I think Till is tougher challenge,” wrote Kavanagh, who also coaches UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor. “One way to find out…”

The UFC has not officially announced the event’s headliner, and an official declined to comment when contacted by MMAjunkie. But Nelson and Till talked up the matchup this past fall and implored the UFC to make it happen. Kavanagh’s tweet included a screenshot of their exchanges, including agreement to fight in London or Liverpool, England.

The bout’s alleged position as the main event is notable, however, given recent headlines. Kavanagh’s announcement comes less than 24 hours after former UFC middleweight champ Michael Bisping hedged on accepting a fight.

On Tuesday, Bisping was hesitant to accept a UFC fight offer for the March event, saying he had until the end of the day to accept. He struggled with the desire to compete one last time on home soil despite the recommendations of friends and family to retire.

Although Bisping did not mention the opponent, he recently announced he’d turned down an offer to face ex-champ Vitor Belfort, who was left without a fight earlier this month after Uriah Hall was forced out of UFC Fight Night 124. Belfort, in turn, blasted his former opponent.

“I’m just debating whether or not I take the fight,” Bisping said. “For me, whether or not those people can see, I have a bad eye. I have a bad eye, and my wife doesn’t want me to continue fighting, and my manager doesn’t want me to continue fighting. I see out of that eye, but not as well as I used to, and I’m still a young man, so it’s kind of the reason I may hang the gloves up. My wife and manager and friends and people close to me say, ‘Mike, what do you want to do that for? You’ve done it. You’ve had the belt.’ I’ve done it. I’ve done what I set out to achieve.

“There’s the payday. I’ve got some lawsuit (expletive) that’s still going on. I don’t know if you’re aware of this, but lawyers are very expensive. Also, one doesn’t want to go out on my last fight, that being the lasting impression on my MMA career. Also, I kind of feel that I owe it to the U.K. fans because they were so supportive throughout my career. I always envisioned in my mind having that retirement fight in London, and there it is on a plate. I just need to take it, but everyone around me is telling me not to.”

Till has been on the shelf since a highlight-reel knockout of Donald Cerrone this past October. He set up a fight immediately afterward with the surging Mike Perry, only to see Perry lose to Santiago Ponzinibbio. Till nevertheless welcomed the fight but also tabbed Nelson and former title challenger Stephen Thompson as possibilities.

UFC President Dana White announced this past November that Till would face Thompson, but Thompson sustained a thumb injury in a previous bout against Jorge Masvidal. Again, Till’s schedule was freed up.

Meanwhile, Nelson hopes to rebound after a quick TKO loss to Ponzinibbio this past July. The submission ace blamed his fate on an eyepoke prior to the stoppage, and he unsuccessfully appealed the loss.

For more on UFC Fight Night 127, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.