Darren Till believes Robert Whittaker came in with the wrong game plan in his last fight with Israel Adesanya.
Whittaker lost his middleweight title after suffering a second-round knockout to Adesanya in the main event of UFC 243 last October. Many observers noted how “The Reaper” was unorthodoxly aggressive and rushing forward throughout the bout.
In the end, it turned out to be his downfall as Adesanya countered him en route to getting the victory. And for Till — who faces Whittaker in the UFC Fight Island 3 headliner this weekend — it was just the wrong game plan entirely.
“Tactically, I think his game plan was all wrong,” Till said on The Luke Thomas Show. “He was jumping at a striker who is very good at counter attacking. He was jumping for shots, looping long out-of-range shots.
“Adesanya is a lot longer than Rob and it was a given that he was going to catch him at one point. Perfect game plan by Adesanya. I don’t think the game plan from Rob was so good, no.”
Till Still Hoping The Worst Whittaker Shows Up
Whittaker will likely change his game plan back to what made him the champion in the first place, and it would be well-advised too, especially as Till is a good counter-striker as well.
As for how he sees Whittaker changing it for him specifically, Till exhibited the same honesty that has endeared him to mixed martial arts fans around the world.
“I just hope he’s very, very sluggish at that time in the morning,” Till added. “Knock him out in the first round and go home. That’s what I’m hoping for, I don’t want to see the best Rob.”
You can listen to the clip below:
🔊@darrentill2 isn't worried about the #UFCFightIsland3 start time affecting him, but he hopes it WILL affect Robert Whittaker 😂😂😂#TLTS@lthomasnews pic.twitter.com/GkW94JgJ5j
— MMA on SiriusXM (@MMAonSiriusXM) July 21, 2020
UFC Fight Island 3 takes place Saturday and will be the final event taking place in Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, for now.
