Former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker (20-5, 9 KOs, 5 SUBs) is looking to bounce back from losing his title in a matchup against former welterweight title challenger Darren Till (18-2, 10 KOs, 2 SUBs). The contest serves as the main event for UFC on ESPN 14 (AKA UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. Till) this Saturday, July 25, 2020 at UFC Fight Island in Abu Dhabi, UAE. The main card airs on ESPN starting 11pm ET, with fighters like Shogun Rua, Alexander Gustafsson and Fabricio Werdum scheduled to fight. The prelims feature eight bouts on ESPN+.
Robert Whittaker opened as a moderate -148 favorite, with Till at +118 on the comeback. Let’s look inside the UFC odds at BookMaker.eu and get to your best betting options.
Bet on UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. Till
Robert Whittaker (20-5, 9 KOs, 5 SUBs)
Israel Adesanya didn’t just take the belt from Whittaker - the Last Stylebender schooled the Aussie en route to an easy second round knockout. The loss snapped an awesome nine-fight winning streak where Whittaker put away the likes of Jacare Souza, Derek Brunson and Yoel Romero (twice) - one of the better streaks we’ve seen at 185 in the past few years. There’s no doubt that Bobby Knuckles belongs in the elite tier of a top-heavy weight class.
The wars against Romero were some of the most gut-wrenching fights in recent memory, as Whittaker came back from the brink of unconsciousness to claw his way to victory. Although those types of performances generate tons of respects and fans, they’re also the types of fights that can take years off a fighting career. On top of that, Whittaker has one of the worst injury luck we’ve ever seen, missing years of action due to knee injuries, staph infection and a collapsed bowel (of all things).
Whittaker is still just 29 years old, but his body has been through a lot. He’s not a big 185-pounder either, so you have to wonder how much longer he keep banging with the monsters in this division.
Darren Till (18-2, 10 KOs, 2 SUBs)
Just two years ago, Till was a 16-0 contender going into a welterweight title fight as a favorite. Then he was completely dominated by Tyron Woodley, and knocked out cold by Jorge Masvidal in his followup. Just like that, Till was a year or two away from getting back into the championship conversation. But there was always an out for “The Gorilla”: as a massive welterweight who struggled to cut weight, a middleweight run seemed inevitable.
Till wasted no time jumping into the shark tank, selecting Gastelum as his first opponent. Gastelum was coming off a failed title bid, but his profile had actually never been higher since he gave Adesanya the toughest test of his career. Going in as a clear underdog, Till put together an excellent game plan and walked away with a split decision win.
Beating Gastelum means a lot - Till took a big risk and it paid off. Now, the Brit finds himself taking on a former champion in just his second fight at 185. A title shot wouldn’t be far behind if he won.
Significant Striking Stats
Strikes landed per minute: Whittaker 4.82 / Till 2.41
Striking accuracy: Whittaker 40% / Till 46%
Strikes absorbed per minute: Whittaker 3.65 / Till 3.03
Striking defense: Whittaker 61% / Till 59%
Grappling Stats
Takedowns per 15 minutes: Whittaker 0.37 / Till 0.66
Takedown accuracy: Whittaker 57% / Till 41%
Takedown defense: Whittaker 84% / Till 82%
Submission average: Whittaker 0 / Till 0
UFC Picks
Though this feels like a tossup, we’re leaning on Till as the slight underdog. Whittaker’s aggression makes him an exciting fighter to watch, but it also plays into Till's best skills as a lethal counter striker. On top of that, we’re willing to bet that Whittaker is somewhat diminished after so many battles and major injuries. It’ll be close, but Till is an excellent bet.
UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. Till Card & Odds
Middleweight - Darren Till -108 vs. Robert Whittaker -123
Women's Bantamweight - Bethe Correia +118 vs. Pannie Kianzad -151
Heavyweight - Fabricio Werdum +263 vs. Alexander Gustafsson -354
Light Heavyweight - Antonio Rogerio Nogueira +149 vs. Mauricio Rua -190
Featherweight - Mike Grundy +158 vs. Movsar Evloev -200
Welterweight - Peter Sobotta +138 vs. Alex Oliveira -174
Heavyweight - Jake Collier +161 vs. Tom Aspinall -205
Welterweight - Jesse Ronson +214 vs. Nicolas Dalby -280
Light Heavyweight - Paul Craig -129 vs. Gadzhimurad Antigulov -103
Women's Strawweight - Carla Esparza +145 vs. Marina Rodriguez -183
Lightweight - Jai Herbert +131 vs. Francisco Trinaldo -165
Welterweight - Niklas Stolze +289 vs. Ramazan Emeev -395
Heavyweight - Raphael Pessoa +195 vs. Tanner Boser -252
Bantamweight - John Castaneda +368 vs. Nathaniel Wood -533
Welterweight - Rhys McKee +669 vs. Khamzat Chimaev -1231
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