Robert Whittaker defeats Darren Till to close UFC Fight Island in Abu Dhabi

Robert Whittaker strikes a blow during his unanimous win over Darren Till. (Getty Images/UFC)
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  • Whittaker surprised by the stubbornness shown by his opponent
  • Rua says familiarity with each other鈥檚 style meant tough fight was inevitable

DUBAI: The four-event UFC Fight Island in Abu Dhabi on Sunday came to a successful close as Robert Whittaker defeated Darren Till by unanimous decision at Flash Forum in Abu Dhabi.

UFC Fight Night 3鈥檚 headline fight saw the former Middleweight champion from Australia edge his English opponent (48-47, 48-47, 48-47) to return to winning ways after losing this championship belt to Israel Adesanya at UFC 243 last October.

鈥淗onestly, I feel over the world,鈥� Whittaker said. 鈥淭here was a lot of stress, a lot of pressure, a lot of thoughts going into this fight. My team was stressed, a lot of pressure, a lot of pressure. The world is crazy at the moment, so to be able to walk away with a win just means the world to me. Over the moon, over the moon, I feel amazing.鈥�

Whittaker admitted he was surprised by the stubbornness shown by his opponent, who woHonestly, he almost got me in that first, it was a hard go,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 guess that was onuld not commit to any strikes and 鈥渏ust sat back and waited for me鈥�. 

鈥渆 of the most technical fights I鈥檝e ever had, to be able to share the Octagon with him was a privilege.鈥�

The elated winner also looked forward to retaining a UFC championship belt. 

鈥淚 would love to fight for a title, I would love that,鈥� Whittaker said. 鈥淚鈥檓 world championship level, that鈥檚 who I am, I鈥檓 a world champion, with or without the belt, and I would love to fight for that. I鈥檓 going to go FaceTime my family, I miss them, everything I do is for them, that鈥檚 who I want to share this with.鈥�

Earlier on the main card, Mauricio 鈥淪hogun鈥� Rua of Brazil had overcome compatriot Antonio Rogerio Nogueira via a split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28).

鈥淓very time I fight Rogerio he鈥檚 super tough, I know it鈥檚 going to be a war, he鈥檚 a legend, a guy I respect a lot,鈥� Rua said. 鈥淚鈥檓 very happy and it is very nice to put on a show and please the fans and please the promoters, so what more can you ask for?鈥�

Rua revealed that the familiarity with each other鈥檚 style meant a tough fight was inevitable.

鈥淚 know that he knows my game a lot, I know his game a lot so we prepared for all the details,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 was curious to see how this would unfold and what would actually happen and thank God, I was able to come out with yet another win in yet another war.鈥�

Before Brazilian Alex Oliveira had beaten Peter Sobotta of Germany via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) at Welterweight, Fabricio Werdum had made quick work of Alexander Gustafsson, forcing a submission after 2:30 in Round 1 of their Heavyweight bout.




Mauricio 鈥淪hogun鈥� Rua (right) of Brazil in his win over compatriot Antonio Rogerio Nogueira. (Getty Images/UFC)

Immediately after his win against his Swedish opponent, the Brazilian appeared to announced his retirement from UFC.

鈥淚 want to thank everyone that supported me and helped me during my career and here at UFC, I leave the company happy, I鈥檓 a bit emotional,鈥� he said. 鈥淓verything that we trained for happened in the fight, it was awesome, exactly what we trained for happened, we did everything right, we trained jiu jitsu, muay thai, boxing, conditioning, but specially the mental strength, that you need to be equally balanced. 

鈥淣o matter how good your body is trained, if your mind is not in the right place it won鈥檛 work, your body won鈥檛 answer,鈥� he added. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 why I鈥檓 so happy. I was looking for the victory for this my last UFC fight. I鈥檓 not sure what I鈥檓 going to do, where I鈥檒l go, I don鈥檛 know, I just want to enjoy this moment and thank everyone that always supported me.鈥�

Elsewhere Paul Craig (Scotland) had forced Gadzhimurad Antigulovinto (Russia) into a first-round submission at Leight Heavyweight after American Carla Esparza beat Marina Rodriguez of Brazil via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 30-27) in their Strawweight opening bout of the main card.

鈥淭he game plan was pretty much what you saw, I planned to move around with her,鈥� Esparza said. 鈥淪he has some heavy knees and elbows and clinch game, I was just planning to move, move, go in for that takedown. I felt that I had the superior ground game, she was more active off her back that I thought, I actually got split from some elbows off her back. She鈥檚 super tough and I鈥檝e seen her fight some really tough grapplers and she doesn鈥檛 quit, so I definitely wasn鈥檛 expecting her to fold over. I was looking for that submission, especially out here in Abu Dhabi, but I鈥檒l take a win against an undefeated fighter any day.鈥�

The undercard had concluded with the gifted Chechen-born Swede Khamzat Chimaev comfortably beating Rhys McKee at welterweight only 10 days after his first UFC win against middleweight John Phillips at Fight Night 1.




Carla Esparza punches Marina Rodriguez in her split decision victory. (Getty Images, UFC)

Just prior, Francisco Trinaldo beat Jai Herbert via a third-round TKO after Jesse Ronson had overcome Nicolas Dalby via submission in Round 1.

Meanwhile in one of the fights of the night Tom Aspinall, making his UFC debut, had stopped Jake Collier via a TKO (strikes) in just 45 seconds.

Three unanimous decisions saw Pannie Kianzad overcome Bethe Correia (30-27, 30-27, 29-28); Ramazan Emeev defeat Niklas Stolze (30-27, 30-27, 29-28); and Nathanial Wood beat John Castaneda (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).

Fight Night 3 had kicked off with Tanner Boser beating Raphael Pessoa via a Round 2 TKO.