The ex-champion of the UFC middleweight category, Robert Whittaker, posted a win over Darren Till tonight. It was a hard-earned victory, against a superb opponent in a match that saw two equal fighters.
Eventually, the details prevailed in Whittaker’s favor, with the Kiwi getting a triumph after a unanimous decision of the judges. All three of them scored 48-47 for the fighter from New Zealand.
Till (18-3-1 MMA, 6-3-1 UFC) started the match better, inflicting Whittaker (21-5 MMA, 12-3 UFC) an elbow which immediately sent him to the floor. The Reaper as the fans call him, stood up and avoided further complications. Yet, it was obvious that as time went by in that opening sequence, things started to change.
The shot by @darrentill2 that dropped Whittaker in the first round 😬 #UFCFightIsland3 pic.twitter.com/IMrgpK8fgi
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) July 26, 2020
The second round was all Whittaker, who was merciless towards the Englishman. He would get even after knocking him down, but didn’t manage to use that situation to finish the fight. Till somehow escaped from the canvas, with his head bloody and swollen, but alive.
Nothing changed in the third round, with Whittaker pushing ahead, not allowing Till to get comfortable at all. He didn’t get to hurt him that much with punches but scored a takedown in the latter stage of the sequence.
The fourth and the fifth round were superb for watching with both fighters going beyond their limits. They would give and receive a beating, with Whittaker getting the fourth and Till the fifth round. It was really a pleasure to watch them compete.
After the fight, the fighters showed respect to one another, chatting in the middle of the octagon.
Robert Whittaker doing Darren Till to Darren Till post fight is jokes! 😂 #UFCFightIsland3
pic.twitter.com/JMdnuwTV25— Chamatkar Sandhu (@SandhuMMA) July 26, 2020
For Whittaker, this is a big win. He lost the belt in the previous fight against Israel Adesanya, and after that, stayed outside the ring for a long time. It seems that there was no rust on him, and that he feels ready to take on big challenges and tries to regain the title.
On the other side, this was the third defeat for Till over the previous four battles, but he didn’t disappoint as usual. The Gorilla proved why he is one of the most popular fighters in the UFC and why he participates in headliners frequently.