UFC middleweight contenders Darren Till and Robert Whittaker are looking to headline the upcoming UFC Dublin card in August, 2020.
It has been reported by ESPN that the UFC is targeting a middleweight showdown between former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker and Darren Till for the main event at UFC Dublin on August 15.
The bout has not been officially announced by the UFC, but according to the report is currently being finalized.
Darren Till last competed in the Octagon in November of last year, where he made his middleweight debut against the former interim UFC middleweight title challenger Kelvin Gastelum. Till won the fight by decision. Before making his move up to middleweight, Till had lost 2-in-a-row at welterweight, against welterweight title challenger Jorge Masvidal and former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley, respectively. Prior to that he picked up impressive victories over fighters like Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone and Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson, before challenging Tyron Woodley for the UFC welterweight title.
Meanwhile, Robert Whittaker hasn’t been back in the Octagon since surrendering his UFC middleweight to Israel Adesanya at UFC 243. He lost to Adesanya via knockout in the 2nd round. Prior to that he had 2 wars with Yoel Romero, going full 10 rounds against the Cuban in their 2 Octagon meetings. Whittaker was expected to face Jared Cannonier at UFC 248, but was forced to withdraw from the bout due to undisclosed reasons. UFC president Dana White appeared on an episode of Submission Radio, calling Whittaker’s withdrawal from the bout against Cannonier “selfless”, citing personal reasons for it.
“Let me put it to you this way,” White said “That’s personal for Whittaker. If Whittaker wants to talk about that, he can, but I’ll tell you this, when you talk about somebody whose priorities are in the right place, who is completely selfless and down to the core a good human being, that’s Robert Whittaker.
The reason Robert Whittaker is not fighting in this fight is one of the most unselfish things I’ve seen in my life. He’s a good man, he’s a good human being, and I have a lot of respect for him. Good luck to him in what he’s dealing with right now. I can’t put into words and articulate how I feel about Robert Whittaker. He’s the real deal, man.”
This article first appeared on CLOSEDGUARDMEDIA.com on 12th March, 2020.
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