Former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker yesterday bounced back to defeat Darren Till as UFC’s Fight Island drew to a close in Abu Dhabi.
“My brain is on overload,” Whittaker said after throwing everything at England’s Till in the unanimous points win, with all three judges scoring 48-47 for the New Zealand-born Australian.
“That fight was so stressful,” he said. “I hope the fans and everybody can appreciate it because that was one of the most technical fights I’ve ever had.”
Photo: AFP / HO / ZUFFA LLC
Whittaker’s win brought the curtain down on the UFC’s successful excursion to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
The 26km2 Yas Island resort complex was sealed off as the Las Vegas-based UFC sought to shielded its fighters from the COVID-19 pandemic.
About 2,500 staff and fighters set up camp under biosecure protocols with constant testing for COVID-19 before, during and after arrival and then regular follow-up checks throughout.
Those who tested positive for the coronavirus were excluded, with the biggest casualty being Brazilian Gilbert Burns, who lost his shot at Nigerian-American UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman two weeks ago as a result.
The 29-year-old Whittaker (22-5) said before the contest that the only thing that worried him was Till’s powerful left fist, a weapon that had given the man from Liverpool 10 knockout victories in an 18-2-1 record coming into the fight.
However, it was a left elbow from Till (18-3-1) instead that put the Aussie on the floor in the first.
Whittaker shook it off quickly and then got down to work, lashing out constantly at Till’s leading leg and picking away with jabs.
By the end the total strike count was 156-81 to Whittaker, who landed 52 to Till’s 29 with Whittaker also showcasing superior wrestling skills.
Whittaker lost his belt when knocked out by Nigerian-New Zealander Israel Adesanya (19-0) in October last year.
This was a welcome return to form for the Australian, who had questioned his future in the sport because of the grind of training.
“He felt me out. In the first round he caught me, he didn’t do that again,” Whittaker said.
“I had to really adapt on the go. It was such a dynamic fight. Things went his way then my way. I just got my head down and that got me across the line,” he said.
Earlier, two veteran Brazilian light heavyweights rolled back the years with 38-year-old Mauricio Rua (27-11-1) taking a split decision, 29-28, 28-29, 29-28 win over 44-year-old fellow Brazilian Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (23-10).
The main card opened with a glimpse into the possible future of the UFC welterweight division. Swede Khamzat “Borz” Chimaev (8-0) made it two wins in two weeks on Fight Island with a first-round knockout of Northern Ireland’s Rhys McKee (10-3-1).
In other bouts, Fabricio Werdum beat Alexander Gustafsson in the first round of their heavyweight fight, Carla Esparza bested Marina Rodriguez in the women’s strawweight, Paul Craig beat Gadzhimurad Antigulov in the light heavyweight division, and in the welterweight division Alex Oliveira defeated Peter Sobotta and Khamzat Chimaev beat Rhys McKee.
Additional reporting by staff writer
Andre de Grasse, the reigning Olympic champion in the men’s 200m, and many other top-class international athletes are to showcase their talent in Taipei at the Taiwan Athletics Open early next month, according to the event’s official Web site. The Canadian sprinter, who clocked 19.62 seconds to top the podium in Tokyo in 2021, is to compete at the Taipei Stadium after the two-day event was upgraded to a leg of the World Athletics Continental Tour. The elevated status of the Taiwan Athletics Open means participants can earn more ranking points, making it possible for the Chinese Taipei Athletics Association (CTAA), the
Novak Djokovic on Sunday described his shock third-round elimination from the Internazionali BNL d’Italia by Alejandro Tabilo as “concerning,” two days after he was hit on the head by a bottle, which he said has caused nausea and dizzy spells. Djokovic’s bid for a record-extending 41st Masters 1000 title was ended in just more than an hour by Chilean Tabilo, who is ranked 32nd in the world and claimed his first win over a top-10 opponent, 6-2, 6-3. The 24-time Grand Slam winner said that his subdued performance on a court where he has won six titles might have been due to
Caitlin Clark on Thursday walked into her new home arena with No. 22 shirts and jerseys peppered from floor to ceiling. She left as a first-time WNBA winner. A late-arriving, but louder-than-usual crowd roared during her official introduction to Fever fans and again when Clark made her first basket, a layup with 7 minutes left in the first quarter. The cheers grew when she completed a three-point play a few minutes later and hit a crescendo when she finally made a long three-pointer from the edge of the fieldhouse logo late in the third quarter. Clark successfully navigated the city’s most anticipated rookie
Alexander Zverev on Wednesday reached his 18th ATP Masters semi-final in Rome, but only after a worrying fall which sparked memories of the horror injury he had at the French Open two years ago. The world No. 5 from Germany defeated Taylor Fritz of the US 6-4, 6-3 in Italian Open to set up a last-four duel with Alejandro Tabilo, the Chilean journeyman who had stunned world No. 1 Novak Djokovic earlier in the tournament. Zverev’s moment of concern came in just the third game on center court at the Foro Italico when he fell on the clay and landed on his