If unbeaten welterweight Darren Till really has what it takes to become the next trash-talking, power-punching clone in the mold of Conor McGregor that UFC hopes he can, the native of England is certainly being thrown into the deep end in order to find out. 

Till (16-0-1) will headline Sunday's UFC Fight Night card (1 p.m. ET, FS1) in his hometown of Liverpool when he takes on former two-time world title challenger Stephen Thompson (14-2-1) at the Echo Arena. 

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If you're looking for brash quotes, the 25-year-old Till deals them in spades. And if you need a highlight-reel knockout of a legitimate contender in order to believe the southpaw is truly ready for this level, go back and watch his first-round demolition of Donald Cerrone from October.

But fighting a jigsaw puzzle like Thompson is certainly another challenge altogether due to his Swiss army knife style of kickboxing, which disarms opponents due to his awkward movements. That doesn't mean Till is worried. 

"He has a great style, very intelligent but I'm just bigger, stronger, more precise, more accurate and more intelligent with my movements," Till told MMACrazyTV.com. "I feel like it's going to be one-way traffic. I don't think he's going to give me any problems, I really don't. 

"On Sunday, I definitely will be ready for five rounds of hell."

Till will have his own set of issues to worry about on Sunday after a missed weight cut has sort of left this fight in the balance. Till must weigh less than 188 pounds Sunday afternoon before the fight after coming in 3.5 pounds heavy on Saturday. If he doesn't, it will be Thompson decision if he wants to take the fight.

Adding motivation for Till, who make no mistake is being fast-tracked into the opportunity by UFC, is the fact that he believes Thompson's anger for not securing a title shot has forced him to overlook this fight. 

After fighting to a disputed draw and close decision loss to welterweight champion Tyron Woodley, Thompson bounced back last November to dominate Jorge Masvidal. But with Woodley on the shelf due to injury, UFC chose to book Rafael dos Anjos and Colby Covington for an interim title bout at UFC 225 on June 9, leaving Thompson as the odd man out despite being ranked in the top spot.

"I understand I fought for the title twice. The first one was a draw, which was an amazing fight, we ended up getting 'Fight of the Night,'" Thompson told FloCombat.com. "The second fight people thought it wasn't very entertaining but if you keep winning and you're still No. 1, why do these guys not have to face me? They're kind of jumping past me a little bit. Now I'm fighting the No. 7 guy. It's a little disappointing to be honest with you that I didn't get the fight with RDA.

"I don't like it. I don't like that decision. They're just handing out interim titles left and right. To me, that's a touchy subject because if [Woodley] says he's ready to fight in August, why even have an interim title? Why even have it? Just say the next guy is going to get the title shot. Why even have the interim title? The interim titles are not doing good for the actual title holder. It just diminishes the value of it."

UFC Fight Night Liverpool fight card, odds

FavoriteUnderdogWeightclass

Darren Till -120

Stephen Thompson -110

Welterweight

Neil Magny -600

Craig White +400

Welterweight

Arnold Allen -285

Mads Burnell +225

Featherweight

Jason Knight -165

Makwan Amirkhani +135

Featherweight

Nordine Taleb -350 

Claudio Silva +265

Welterweight

Eric Spicely -185

Darren Stewart +150

Middleweight

Although Thompson has repeatedly said he has moved on from the situation and isn't overlooking Sunday's fight, Till sees an opening. 

"I was surprised [Thompson accepted the fight] because I know he thought that I wasn't worthy of him and he wanted to wait for the title shot," Till said. "UFC convinced him and it is what it is. He thinks he's probably just coming in to beat me and get back to business, but I've got other things on my mind. I'm coming in to take his spot.

"It's going to be amazing, honestly. It's going to be certainly incredible and something never seen before, I can guarantee that. But I just think the fight is going to be a very violent fight. I want to hit him and he wants to hit me. It's going to be violent and I feel like I'm going to stop him within three rounds. I'm going to stop him.

Despite the fact that it seems the No. 1 ranked Thompson has more to lose than win in this fight, the native of South Carolina disagrees. 

"I really don't think about it," Thompson told ESPN. "I know it's kind of a hard situation because, sure, if I do lose, then I've lost my No. 1 spot. And if Tyron keeps winning, I'll probably have to win one or two more fights to get another title shot.

"But I'm in this game to test myself against the world's best. I'm 35, but I consider myself a young 35. I've got time. Right now, I'm along for the ride. If I go out and put on a good show and beat Darren Till, then I'm still the No. 1 contender. Right now, it's like, 'Hey, go out and solidify that No. 1 spot so they have to give it to me.'"

Prediction

For as great as Till has looked, it's hard to determine whether this is too much, too soon for "The Gorilla." While Till surely looked impressive in stepping up in class to take out Cerrone, the fading veteran was fresh off a pair of violent losses. Facing someone of Thompson's technical difficulty is a whole new ballgame. 

The wildcard in this scenario, however, is the positive effect that the home-field advantage might have for Till. The card marks UFC's debut in Liverpool, where the atmosphere is expected to be electric and could lift Till to an inspired performance. 

But Thompson's gift is his ability to limit danger and control the pace and distance. This fight has five rounds written all over it, which should test Till's gas tank and resolve should he be unable to secure an early stoppage. 

Pick: Thompson via UD.