Whittaker back on top
AUSTRALIAN Robert Whittaker got back to winning ways on Sunday after a technical five-round middleweight chess match against Darren Till.
Fighting for the first time since losing his belt, Whittaker overcame an early knockdown to secure a unanimous decision (48-47 x 3) victory on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi.
Whittaker was finished by current champion Israel Adesanya in front of a packed Marvel Stadium in Melbourne last year, but got the job done against Till in a fan-less arena on the other side of the world.
Till caught and dropped the Australian with a nasty elbow in the first round of their main event showdown, but Whittaker finished the round well, and controlled the middle of the fight.
He dropped Till with a right hand over the top in the second, and was ultimately rewarded for being the more active, creative fighter.
“I tell you what, that fight was so stressful,” a smiling
Whittaker said post-fight. “That for me was one of the most technical fights I’ve ever had to fight.”
Two judges gave Whittaker the second, third and fifth rounds, while a third saw him edge the second, third and fourth rounds.
The Sydney-based brawler has won 10 of his past 11 fights, and consigned Till to his first defeat at middleweight after the Englishman successfully made the jump from 170pounds earlier this year.
Till, who thought it was a “win” for both men, said he blew his knee out in the second after a knee-stamp from Whittaker.
“I’ve never felt like this after a loss,” Till, who proved he belongs at the top of the 185pound division, told reporters. “I feel OK.”
“I feel like we both won the fight. I’m not saying I feel like I won it, but we just both won. It was a clinically great match.”
Whittaker withdrew from a scheduled bout against Jared
Cannonier this year after dealing with “career-ending” burnout. The 29-year-old now looks recharged and, more importantly, happy again.
While Whittaker says his focus is on getting back to Australia to see his family, the win puts him, the No. 1 contender, in the perfect position to fight the winner of the Israel Adesanya-Paulo Costa clash slated for UFC 253 in September.
And that Adesanya rematch is one he wants, no matter where or when.