Darren Till is hoping he gets to fight the worst version of Robert Whittaker there has been on July 25.
Till and Whittaker were expected to headline UFC Dublin but the event was canceled due to the coronavirus. But, it was quickly rebooked for July 25 where the two have been taken shots at one another where the two even pitched a catchweight so they could drink and eat.
Yet, when it comes to fight night, Darren Till isn’t sure which Whittaker will show up. But, he hopes it is not a good one.
“I’m expecting either amazing Rob or I’m expecting Rob that doesn’t believe himself so much anymore. 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,” Till said on Michael Bisping’s podcast. “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.”
Robert Whittaker is coming off a knockout loss to Israel Adesanya to lose his middleweight title. Bisping, like many other pundits, have said the Aussie never showed up to that fight which is something Till is hoping will happen again.
“I hope to f**k he doesn’t show up to my fight,” he said. “Easy win, easy money [laughs].”
Darren Till is coming off a decision win over Kelvin Gastelum in his UFC middleweight debut back at UFC 244. The victory snapped his two-fight skid where he suffered a knockout loss to Jorge Masvidal and a submission loss to Tyron Woodley for the welterweight title.
In his career, the Englishman has notable wins over Stephen Thompson and Donald Cerrone among others.
Robert Whittaker, meanwhile, as mentioned is coming off the loss to Adesanya. Before that, he had the back-to-back wins over Yoel Romero to win the interim title and was later promoted to the undisputed champion. He also has notable wins over Jacare Souza, Derek Brunson, and Uriah Hall.
The winner of Till-Whittaker positions themselves nicely to face the winner of Adesanya-Paulo Costa which is expected to happen sometime this year.
What do you make of Darren Till saying he hopes to fight the worst Robert Whittaker there has been?