Darren Till is hoping to face the worst Robert Whittaker yet.
Till meets the former middleweight champion in the July 25 headliner in Abu Dhabi’s Fight Island in a bout that could potentially determine the next title challenger at 185 pounds.
Rob? Darren? 🏝#InAbuDhabi @VisitAbuDhabi #UFCFightIsland3 pic.twitter.com/bs6VOkgViH
— UFC (@ufc) June 18, 2020
Till Looking For Easier Night
In the fight game, it’s commonplace for many to say they are hoping to face the best version of their upcoming opponents. After all, that makes a potential win that much more satisfying.
But such is the honesty and uniqueness of Till that has made him such a popular figure, that he is actually hoping to face the worst version of Whittaker so that he has an easier task ahead of him.
“I’m expecting either amazing Rob or I’m expecting Rob that doesn’t believe himself so much anymore,” Till said on Michael Bisping’s podcast (via BJ Penn). “I’m preparing for either or. Obviously, most fighters would say, well I want the best Rob. No. I want the worst Rob, make it easier for me.
“I don’t know what Rob we’re gonna expect. We’ve been having a good back and forth for a while now, it’s been really fun. So whatever Rob comes. I will say I’ve been preparing during [the] lockdown and while maybe it’s coming to an end maybe it’s not, Fight Island’s on the horizon. Got six weeks to fight for five rounds.”
Whittaker hasn’t competed since losing his middleweight title in a second-round knockout defeat to Israel Adesanya back in October.
Bisping later noted how “The Reaper” didn’t show up on that night and Till is hoping the same thing happens on July 25.
“I hope to f**k he doesn’t show up to my fight,” he added. “Easy win, easy money [laughs].”
Till moved up from welterweight to middleweight in November and enjoyed a successful debut after outpointing former title challenger Kelvin Gastelum over three rounds at UFC 244.
