The UFC Fight Night Whittaker vs. Till main event is official after both fighters made weight before the event. The duo stepped on the scale at 186 pounds, which is the non-championship average weight limit. This fight will go a long way in determining the hierarchical order of the Middleweight Championship challengers.
Robert Whittaker
‘The Reaper’ comes from a loss in his home country that saw him deliver his UFC Middleweight Championship. On the night, Israel Adesanya ended it for TKO and ended his streak of 9 consecutive wins. After the fight, the Australian spent time away from the sport that helped him rekindle his hunger.
Now, he’s back and knows that a loss will see him fall freely in the middleweight ranking. He faces a game contender in Darren Till who is undefeated at this weight in a UFC fight as well as in his pre-UFC days.
WATCH: Robert Whittaker’s Top 5 UFC Moments
Darren Till
‘The Gorilla’ moved to Middleweight after his loss to Jorge Masvidal. Here at UFC 244, he defeated Kelvin Gastelum to announce his arrival in the division. In hindsight, as he looked back at Gastelum’s 3-fight losing streak, Till’s fight was the closest given that it was a split decision.
However, the Englishman possesses a powerful left hand that can end a fight instantly. Robert Whittaker has said he has more weapons than his opponent, but added that he would be wary of Till’s greatest strength.
Prediction for UFC Fight Night
The fight will largely see both competitors standing upright. We can deduce this from their UFC elimination averages for 15 minutes. Up to 0.66 takedown averages with the number dropping even lower for ‘The Reaper’ averaging 0.36.
The duo have won a total of 7 submission fights, however these wins came long before their time in the UFC.
The highest ranked middleweight contender has a great advantage in the significant strokes per minute. He lands 4.77 attacks, which is a whopping 2.36 ahead of ‘The Gorilla’s 2.41. However, it does have an inch reach advantage. The Australian who can use a variety of techniques to claim the rounds on Fight Island will override this stat.
Fifth ranked is the leader in middleweight in terms of hitting percentage. This gives viewers the idea that he is making the most of his attacks and is not exerting energy by swinging and failing. Darren Till lands 46% of his shots before Whittaker’s 39%.
Based on this statistic and Whittaker’s attack style, if he got to one early, the fight would end in no time. This should be the strategy, as you can fight as the fight progresses.
However, it can be argued that Whittaker landing more shots offsets the percentage drop as he does all the time. Here, ‘The Reaper’ knows you will have your feet on the balls of your toes trying to deflect or avoid hitting. The strategy will ensure that Till does not have a base from which to unleash a massive blow that ends the fight.
Additionally, Whittaker has UFC experience in Middleweight, having spent 6 years in the division. Everything indicates that he hit ‘The Gorilla’ to claim a great victory that increases morale. Darren Till has yet to lose on the judges’ scorecards. Don’t expect that to change.
Prediction: Whittaker will win through third-round TKO.
Sources: Robert Whittaker-UFC Statistics, Darren Till-UFC Statistics
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