UFC on ESPN 14: Whittaker vs Till betting predictions

Whittaker vs Till UFC betting preview

Robert Whittaker (20-5) and Darren Till (18-2-1) will headline UFC on ESPN 14 this weekend, the final event out of four scheduled to take place on UFC Fight Island in Abu Dhabi. Both fighters will be jostling for position in the rankings as they each seek a shot at the UFC Middleweight Championship.

Whittaker had an impressive stretch of eight straight wins snapped in his last fight against Israel Adesanya at UFC 243 last October. Whittaker had won the interim UFC Middleweight Championship with a victory over Yoel Romero at UFC 213 and was later promoted to undisputed champion, but he lost the title in his first official defense of it against Adesanya. After withdrawing from his last scheduled fight in April against Jared Cannonier due to burnout, Whittaker is finally set to make his return to the octagon.

Till enjoyed a successful UFC debut at middleweight when he defeated Kevin Gastelum at UFC 244 by split decision. Till suffered losses in each of his last two fights at welterweight against Jorge Masvidal and then-champion Tyron Woodley; he had been 17-0-1 as a professional and 5-0-1 in the UFC before those defeats. The Englishman failed to make weight in two of his last six fights at welterweight, so the move up in class made sense.

This is an extremely important fight for both of these men. Whittaker claims that he is healthy and well-trained coming into this fight, but there have to be some concerns about his level of focus after his withdrawal earlier this year. Till has lost two of his last three fights and just barely won the third, so he needs to prove that he can hang with high-level fighters with a win in this one.

It’s always exciting to see a main event that is this competitive. Cases can be made on both sides, but Whittaker is the fighter with the more impressive resume and experience at middleweight. Assuming he’s at 100% mentally and physically in this one, the New Zealand-born fighter should bounce back from his loss to Adesanya with a win here.