#UFC ‘Fight Island’: Robert Whittaker will outgun Darren Till

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Robert Whittaker and Darren Till
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Saturday’s UFC card from Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, is the fourth event at “Fight Island.” Fifteen bouts are scheduled featuring mixed martial artists from 15 countries. There will be plenty of diversity, as fights range from women’s strawweight (115 pounds) to men’s heavyweight (265 pounds).

The main event pits middleweights Robert Whittaker and Darren Till. Each man began his career at the lower welterweight division before moving up to the 185-pound division.

Till’s first UFC bout at middleweight was in November, when he defeated Kelvin Gastelum. Before that Till, was under the illusion that he was a welterweight, but after repeatedly missing the 170-pound weight limit, he had to begin fighting men his own size and weight.

I view Till’s reluctance to move up as a tell. I regard him as a bully trying to compete with smaller men. When he made 170 pounds, he trucked opponents with his aggressiveness and physicality until he ran into Jorge Masvidal, who exposed Till’s most flagrant weakness, his balsa wood beak.

I believe Till carries an insecurity about him. The southpaw is a deliberate, stoic and relatively upright Muay Thai/boxing-based striker. He possesses power, though at middleweight his strikes need to be accumulative. Till is a bit plodding and is not fluid of foot, and his strike defense has flaws. Till needs to be the bully and back opponents up, though he might find executing that plan a far tougher task in this division.

Whittaker is the former middleweight champion. He employs unrelenting forward pressure to unleash a barrage of power strikes and kicks. He’s at his best pressing the fight and initiating exchanges.

Whittaker is the more well-rounded combatant, with black belts in hapkido and karate and a brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Whittaker’s striking is power-based. He also possesses grappling skills, making him a more well-versed mixed martial artist than his one-dimensional opponent. If this fight gets to the floor, Whittaker would hold the advantage.

After winning two apocalyptic five-round wars with Yoel Romero, Whittaker was emotionally and physically sapped. Even so, he ambled into another championship defense against Israel Adesanya, where he was finished by a razor-sharp fighter. Whittaker’s performance that evening was the poorest of his career.

Till might struggle mentally with whether he truly belongs in the middleweight division with bigger competitors over whom he is unable to tower. Whittaker’s unknown revolves around his emotionless, lackluster performance against Adesanya in October.

Can Till overcome his anxiety and deliver an impressive performance?

Has Whittaker’s time away refreshed, replenished and refocused the Australian, or is he in there for one more payout?

These questions will be answered Saturday night. This bout opened Whittaker -150 and is now Whittaker -130 at William Hill.

Whittaker’s body of work, his eight fights against elite UFC middleweights and his time away make me believe that he arrives in peak form. I believe Whittaker will bully the British bully.