Robert Whittaker Praises Middleweight Darren Till’s Performance at UFC 244

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Darren Till fought off fatigue and jetlag to record arguably the biggest victory of his career when he took on Kelvin Gastelum last Saturday night at UFC 244 in his 185-pound debut with the promotion. Former middleweight champ Robert Whittaker praised Till’s performance and believes it was his best fight since making his debut for the promotion.

Till arrived only two days before the fight after running into visa issues, but put that aside to outpoint Gastelum over the three rounds. He won via split decision and broke a two-fight losing streak.

Whittaker, who lost his middleweight title to Israel Adesanya last month in Melbourne, Australia, praised Till’s performance, in particular his striking game, which allowed him to dictate the pace of the fight and supress Gastelum’s attack (h/t BJPenn.com).

“Till was landing a lot of clean shots,” Whittaker said. “I think that he was nullifying a lot of Gastelum’s striking, because he was stepping out on the jab, dropping his level on the two, and then turning it into the clinch. I think it was beautiful. I think Till came in with a great gameplan, I think he executed it perfectly, because Gastelum is a super underrated, super, super dangerous fighter.”

Whittaker said the reduced weight cut looked to have rejuvenated Till and his performance against Gastelum surpassed what he had previously produced at welterweight.

“He looks as good as he was in welterweight,” Whittaker said.

“Probably better,” Whittaker added when asked how Till will do at middleweight compared to welterweight. “He won’t be doing those harsh cuts anymore. And remember, this was his first fight at middleweight. He’s only going to fill out into it better.”