1. Stephen Thompson vs. Darren Till
UFC Fight Night 130
May 27 | Liverpool, England
An oil-and-water main event pits Thompson’s humility against Till’s bravado in a pivotal battle between top-shelf welterweights. Till, 25, fancies himself a title contender at 170 pounds and took a significant step in that direction in October, when he obliterated Donald Cerrone in a little more than four minutes, extended his winning streak to three fights and improved his record to 16-0-1. A majority draw with Nicolas Dalby in 2015 remains the only blemish on his resume, though it should be noted that he suffered a shoulder injury during the bout that later required surgery and kept him out of the Octagon for roughly 18 months. Thompson, a two-time welterweight title contender, last competed at UFC 217 on Nov. 4, when he pocketed a unanimous decision against Jorge Masvidal at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Sherdog’s Top 10 series is voted upon by a panel of Sherdog.com staff members and contributors: Tristen Critchfield, Mike Fridley, Brian Knapp, Eric Stinton, Jesse Denis, Todd Martin, Josh Stillman, Nick Grinups and Anthony Walker.