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Till had a
chance to stake his claim for a chance at the middleweight title with a win
over Whittaker. He had moved up from welterweight after his defeat to Jorge
Masvidal and was looking to continue his ascend to the top after it was
halted last year. But Whittaker was too much to take for Till.
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New Delhi(Agencies): The
last event at the Flash Forum in Abu Dhabi was a stacked one. Former champions
and challengers were fighting each other with fans excited for the match-ups.
The main event was between former UFC Middleweight champion Robert Whittaker
and Darren Till. MMA legend Antônio Rogério Nogueira was fighting for the last
time in the UFC and took on former light heavyweight champion Shogun Rua.
Meanwhile, former heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum was facing the returning
Alexander ‘The Mauler’ Gustafsson. It had all the ingredients for a great fight
card.
Till had a chance to stake his
claim for a chance at the middleweight title with a win over Whittaker. He had
moved up from welterweight after his defeat to Jorge Masvidal and was looking
to continue his ascent to the top after it was halted last year. But Whittaker
was too much to take for Till.
‘The Reaper’ engaged in a technical fight with
Till and eventually emerged victorious with a unanimous decision in the last of
four UFC shows in two weeks from the mixed martial arts promotion’s fan-free
bubble in the Middle East. Till has now lost 3 of his last four fights.
The main event was a messy,
technical fight that turned into an encouraging step forward for Whittaker
(21-5), who ended the victory with a smile and a horrifically bloody cut above
his left ear.
Whittaker won his middleweight
belt in 2017, but the Australian brawler defended it just once and missed
significant time with injuries. He lost the title last October to New Zealand’s
Israel Adesanya, and Whittaker then withdrew from a scheduled comeback fight
because he felt burned out on MMA.
He didn’t have an easy return,
but the ex-champ still handled his matchup with Till (18-3-1), the touted
British prospect.
“That fight was so stressful,” Whittaker said.
“I hope the fans and everybody can appreciate it. That was one of the most
technical fights I’ve ever had to fight. We both knew each other’s strengths. I
had to really adapt on the go.”
Till dropped Whittaker with a
sneaky elbow in a strong first round for the Englishman, but Whittaker knocked
down Till in the second and then hurt him with elbows on the ground. The next
three rounds weren’t quite as exciting, but Whittaker appeared to land more
accurate strikes while fighting at his preferred distance.
Till still caught Whittaker
with a late shot that opened a major cut on Whittaker’s head, but all three
judges scored it 48-47 for Whittaker.
Till was among the UFC’s
brightest rising stars until welterweight champ Tyron Woodley stopped him in
September 2018. Till then got knocked out by Jorge Masvidal in London, but
rebounded with a narrow win over Kelvin Gastelum last November.
After returning from a
stoppage due to the coronavirus pandemic with shows in Florida and Nevada, the
UFC has spent July on Yas Island, the popular Abu Dhabi tourist destination.
The shows all started before dawn to reach North American audiences.
The UFC has several upcoming
shows scheduled for the gym on its corporate campus in Las Vegas, but President
Dana White has said he expects to be back at Fight Island later this year,
particularly if the pandemic worsens in the U.S.
The 38-year-old Rua (27-11-1)
and the 44-year-old Nogueira (23-10) put on an entertaining performance in
their third fight in a rivalry that began 15 years ago. Rua won all three of
those bouts, but he barely won this lively striking matchup, triumphing 29-28
on two cards.
“I am the happiest man in the world today,”
said Rua, who has won five of his last seven fights. “Every fight, Nogueira has
made it hard. I took one more step in my career tonight.”
Nogueira said he probably will
retire after this defeat, although his reluctance was visible. The twin brother
of fellow UFC veteran Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira has been a pro MMA fighter for
19 years, including the last 11 in the UFC.
“I know I can (still) fight very well, but I
think it’s time for the new generation to come,” Nogueira said.
Werdum (24-9-1) earned his
first victory since 2017 with an impressive submission of Gustafsson (18-7),
the former light heavyweight title contender who briefly retired last year.
Werdum turns 43 next week, but
the famed jiu-jitsu practitioner took apart Gustafsson on the ground for an
armbar. Gustafsson, who nearly beat Jon Jones for the light heavyweight title
in 2013, has lost three straight fights and five of seven.
On the undercard, welterweight
Khamzat Chimaev set a UFC record with his second victory in only 10 days,
finishing welterweight Rhys McKee with punches just 3:09 into the first round.
Chimaev (8-0) made his UFC
debut as a middleweight in Abu Dhabi on July 15, stopping John Phillips with a
choke in the second round despite fighting on short notice in a higher weight
class. His 10-day gap between victories is the shortest in UFC history since
the end of one-night tournament competition, breaking Chas Skelly’s record of
13 days in 2014.
“I can fight (again) after one hour,” Chimaev
said with a smile. “Maybe if you give me a minute, if somebody is injured, just
tell me. I’m going to smash everybody. ... How many fighters in my division? I
can smash the whole division. Easy work, easy money.”
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