Over the weekend Darren Till made his middleweight debut by besting Kelvin Gastelum in the co-main event of UFC 244. Till took home a split decision win after going three rounds with the former interim 185-pound title challenger. Speaking on his podcast, “Grange TV,” former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker offered his thoughts on Till’s performance. […]
Over the weekend Darren Till made his middleweight debut by besting Kelvin Gastelum in the co-main event of UFC 244. Till took home a split decision win after going three rounds with the former interim 185-pound title challenger.
Speaking on his podcast, “Grange TV,” former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker offered his thoughts on Till’s performance. Whittaker had nothing but good things to say about “The Gorilla’s” work inside the Octagon. (H/T BJPenn.com)
“Till was landing a lot of clean shots,” Whittaker said. “I think that he was nullifying a lot of Gastelum’s striking, because he was stepping out on the jab, dropping his level on the two, and then turning it into the clinch.
“I think it was beautiful. I think Till came in with a great gameplan, I think he executed it perfectly, cause Gastelum is a super underrated, super, super dangerous fighter.”
Whittaker noted that since Till isn’t making the dangerous cuts down to 170 pounds anymore, he might only look better in his new weight class from here on out.
“He looks as good as he was in welterweight,” Whittaker said. “Probably better. He won’t be doing those harsh cuts anymore. And remember, this was his first fight at middleweight. He’s only going to fill out into it better.”
What do you think about Whittaker’s take on Till’s debut at middleweight?
Former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker wanted a quick turnaround following his knockout loss to Israel Adesanya, and he might just get it. According to the Australian ticketing company, Ticketek, Whittaker has canceled his scheduled 13-date speaking tour throughout Australia and New Zealand. Whittaker’s representation, Rival Sports Management, released an interesting statement on the matter. […]
Former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker wanted a quick turnaround following his knockout loss to Israel Adesanya, and he might just get it.
According to the Australian ticketing company, Ticketek, Whittaker has canceled his scheduled 13-date speaking tour throughout Australia and New Zealand. Whittaker’s representation, Rival Sports Management, released an interesting statement on the matter.
“An exciting opportunity has arisen that requires Rob to return to training immediately. This unfortunately means that his scheduled Nov/Dec speaking tour and meet-and-greet will be postponed until further notice. Next fight opponent and news will be announced soon.”
Whittaker lost the 185-pound title to Adesanya in their UFC 243 main event meeting in Australia. “The Reaper” was knocked down badly at the end of the first round, but survived due to time running out. In the second round, Whittaker was finished in dramatic fashion by “Stylebender,” who now sits atop the middleweight division.
It’s interesting that Whittaker has gone back into training for an “exciting opportunity,” as Paulo Costa, the expected next challenger for Adesanya, was recently sidelined with an injury.
The UFC’s middleweight division is on fire at the moment. With a new champion in Israel Adesanya sitting atop the mountain; challengers such as Kelvin Gastelum, Darren Till, Paulo Costa, and Robert Whittaker now wait as potential title challengers. Whittaker comes off a knockout loss to “Stylebender,” dropping the 185-pound title to the Nigerian-born striker. […]
The UFC’s middleweight division is on fire at the moment. With a new champion in Israel Adesanya sitting atop the mountain; challengers such as Kelvin Gastelum, Darren Till, Paulo Costa, and Robert Whittaker now wait as potential title challengers.
Whittaker comes off a knockout loss to “Stylebender,” dropping the 185-pound title to the Nigerian-born striker. As for Gastelum and Till, they’ll face off at UFC 244 on pay-per-view (PPV). Adesanya is believed to be gearing up to make his first title defense against Costa in 2020. Speaking to Submission Radio recently, Whittaker discussed the current layout of the middleweight division.
“Bobby Knuckles” said he’ll be paying close attention to Gastelum vs. Till in November, as the winner could very well be his next opponent.
“Yeah, certainly I’m gonna be watching it closely, cause they’re very likely opponents in the future. But I would have to say, I would have to lean towards Gastelum, because I think he’s a super underrated fighter in the middleweight division.
“But he’s very sneaky in his approach to closing the distance and his approach in landing the strikes. He’s quite quick. We’ll have to see how Till makes the transition to middleweight. That’s always a big question mark for me, watching guys jump up. So, I’ll have to lean towards Gastelum at this point.”
After seeing Whittaker’s knockout loss to Adesanya, Gastelum has come out and claimed he’d drop the Australian like “a sack of potatoes” if they fought. This kind of trash talk doesn’t come as a surprise to Whittaker in this day and age.
“Nah, I’m not surprised. The game and the culture around it, is everyone just wants to shit on each other. And yeah, it’s sad. It’s sad that people have to try and shit on each other to move up in the world. Like, I think I’ve shown, you don’t have to do that. But maybe he would have. We’ll see. We’re still quite young, both me and him, and I’m sure our paths will cross.”
Whittaker doesn’t plan on taking too much time off to recover from his loss to Adesanya either, as he claims he’s eying an early 2020 return to action.
“We’ll see what the division does. Like, I gotta see the other guys fights conclude, but February, March next year looks pretty good.”
Do you think Whittaker will fight the winner of Gastelum and Till next?
Former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker does not intend on having a long layoff following his recent setback. Whittaker faced Israel Adesanya in a middleweight title unification fight in the main event of UFC 243 this past weekend. However, he was outclassed by “The Last Stylebender” who proceeded to knock him out in the second […]
Former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker does not intend on having a long layoff following his recent setback.
Whittaker faced Israel Adesanya in a middleweight title unification fight in the main event of UFC 243 this past weekend. However, he was outclassed by “The Last Stylebender” who proceeded to knock him out in the second round to become the new undisputed king at 185 pounds.
Luckily for Whittaker, he didn’t suffer any major injuries during the contest and is planning on returning to training soon once he’s medically clear. In fact, he’s targeting a return early next year:
“I’m not looking to take a long time off,” Whittaker said on his podcast (via MMA Junkie). “Obviously I have to give myself the appropriate amount of rest time for my brain, but I want to get back in there, and I want to just get back to work.
“If my health is all on point, on check, February, March next year. That’s not out of the ordinary. I think that would be good.”
As for the fight itself, Whittaker maintains he felt great going into it. He also didn’t feel he was getting out struck by Adesanya either:
“I felt great going in, I felt great walking out, I felt great in there,” Whittaker explained. “I felt great trading with him. I didn’t feel like I was getting out struck. I felt good, but he’s a great fighter.
“His timing is on point, and I was trying to close that gap to get in there on him, and I got caught at the end of the first, which set the tone for the second. I got back to what I was doing, and I got caught in the second round, as well.”
Kelvin Gastelum watched UFC 243 and thinks that Robert Whittaker not only could have done better but also feels the former middleweight champ could be on the decline. After losing by second-round knock out to Israel Adesanya in Australia and losing the…
Kelvin Gastelum watched UFC 243 and thinks that Robert Whittaker not only could have done better but also feels the former middleweight champ could be on the decline. After losing by second-round knock out to Israel Adesanya in Australia and losing the title, Gastelum feels that when Whittaker was supposed to fight him back at […]
Robert Whittaker may have suffered his first defeat since 2014, but don’t expect him to wait for a rebound. In the main event of UFC 243, Whittaker and Israel Adesanya competed to determine the undisputed UFC middleweight champion. Whittaker was …
Robert Whittaker may have suffered his first defeat since 2014, but don’t expect him to wait for a rebound. In the main event of UFC 243, Whittaker and Israel Adesanya competed to determine the undisputed UFC middleweight champion. Whittaker was the 185-pound title holder going into the bout, while Adesanya held interim gold. In the […]