What to look for in the UFC Fight Island 3 main event on Saturday night
The last remaining UFC Fight Island card will take place this Saturday, July 25 as former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker meets former welterweight title contender Darren Till at 185-pounds.
Even though Whittaker (20-5) is coming off a second-round KO loss to Israel Adesanya at UFC 243 last October to lose the middleweight title, he will enter the fight Darren Till this weekend as the main favorite according to Sports Betting Dime.
Whittaker’s loss to Adesanya was his first with the promotion since February 2014, a more than five year win-streak.
Till, on the other hand, is entering the bout on a win over Kelvin Gastelum; his UFC debut at 185-pounds. Prior to the victory Till lost the title fight to Woodley, followed by a second round knockout to Jorge Masvidal, which prompted the move to middleweight.
This Whittaker-Till bout at UFC Fight Island 3 is pivotal for both competitors. Whittaker, who has recently been plagued by health and personal issues, wants to keep his name at the top of the list for possible title contenders in hopes to get another crack at the belt he once held.
Till doesn’t want to be a one-hit wonder at middleweight, and will to avoid coming out with a loss.
I expect Whittaker to come out cautiously while Till may look to push the pace early on and aim for that quick knockout win.
The Englishman doesn’t have quite the resume that Whittaker does and this is the perfect opportunity for the former champion to use his wrestling, take Till down, and works towards a decision on the judges’ scorecards.
Main Card
Middleweight Fight (Main Event): Robert Whittaker Vs. Darren Till
Light Heavyweight (Co-main Event): Mauricio Rua Vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
Heavyweight Fight: Fabricio Werdum Vs. Alexander Gustafsson
Women Strawweight Fight: Carla Esparza Vs. Marina Rodriguez
Light Heavyweight Fight: Paul Craig Vs. Gadzhimurad Antigulov
Welterweight Fight: Alex Oliveira Vs. Peter Sobotta
Welterweight Fight: Khamzat Chimaev Vs. Rhys Mckee
Preliminary Card
Lightweight Fight: Francisco Trinaldo Vs. Jai Herbert
Welterweight Fight: Nicolas Dalby Vs. Jesse Ronson
Heavyweight Fight: Tom Aspinall Vs. Jake Collier
Featherweight Fight: Movsar Evloev Vs. Mike Grundy
Heavyweight Fight: Tanner Boser Vs. Raphael Pessoa
Women Bantamweight Fight: Bethe Correia Vs. Pannie Kianzad
Welterweight Fight: Ramazan Emeev Vs. Niklas Stolze
Bantamweight Fight: Nathaniel Wood Vs. John Castaneda
