UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Till
| Industry | Mixed martial arts |
|---|---|
| Founded | October 21, 2017 |
| Headquarters | Gdańsk , Poland |
| Products | Mixed martial arts events |
UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Till, also referred to as UFC Fight Night 118, was a mixed martial arts competition organized by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on October 21, 2017, hosted at Ergo Arena in Gdańsk, Poland.
Background
This event represented the UFC's debut in Gdańsk and marked its second appearance in Poland, following UFC Fight Night: Gonzaga vs. Cro Cop 2 held in April 2015.
Originally, the main event was planned to feature a middleweight clash between Thiago Santos and debutant Michał Materla. However, Materla withdrew after choosing to renew his contract with the Polish promotion KSW, resulting in Santos being removed from the card and reassigned to compete at UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs. Machida.
Subsequently, the headline bout was established as a welterweight contest between former UFC Lightweight Championship challenger Donald Cerrone and Darren Till.
A heavyweight matchup involving Dmitry Smolyakov and newcomer Adam Wieczorek was transferred from UFC 214 to this event but was ultimately canceled due to security issues related to local football hooligans affiliated with opposing teams. This fight was later rescheduled for UFC Fight Night: Werdum vs. Tybura.
Promotional debutant Przemysław Mysiala was slated to face Jimi Manuwa, but contractual complications with Absolute Championship Berkut prevented the bout from taking place.
Teemu Packalén withdrew because of a knee injury and was substituted by newcomer Nasrat Haqparast to face Marcin Held.
Trevor Smith exited due to injury and was replaced by Sam Alvey against Ramazan Emeev. At the weigh-in, Alvey failed to make weight by four pounds, resulting in a 20% fine of his fight purse; nevertheless, the match proceeded at catchweight.
Jim Wallhead pulled out of his welterweight contest against TUF Brazil winner Warlley Alves, with promotional newcomer Salim Touahri stepping in as his replacement.
Bonus awards
Monetary bonuses of $50,000 were awarded for exceptional performances:
- Fight of the Night: Brian Kelleher vs. Damian Stasiak
- Performance of the Night: awarded to Darren Till and Jan Błachowicz