Jesse Ronson def. Nicolas Dalby through first-round submission (rear-naked choke).
Tom Aspinall def. Jake Collier by means of first-round TKO (punches).
Movsar Evloev def. Mike Grundy by means of unanimous choice (30-27, 30-27, 29-28).
Francisco Trinaldo def. Jai Herbert by means of third-round TKO (punches).
The UFCs time on Fight Island covered up with a tactical striking fight between leading middleweight contenders Robert Whittaker and Darren Till. Whittaker, defending the very first time considering that losing the middleweight champion to Israel Adesanya, made it through an early scare to score an unanimous choice success and get back in the win column.
Early in the preliminary, Till captured Whittaker lunging in, breaking him with a brief elbow and dropping the previous champion to the canvas. Till tried to opt for the finish, however Whittaker recovered well and used the danger of winging overhand rights to keep Till from pushing the early benefit.
In the second round, Whittaker scored his own knockdown, battle Till with a wild overhand right and planting him on the canvas. Whittaker utilized the chance to land some heavy ground and pound shots, swelling Tills face and drawing blood from his nose.
Tanner Boser def. Raphael Pessoa via second-round TKO (punches).
With both guys having scored knockdowns, the fight settled into a pattern dominated by feints and leg kicks from Whittaker. Whittaker was the busier fighter in the middle rounds, developing up a lead on the scorecards that would eventually be the deciding factor in the result.
” I inform you what, that battle was so stressful,” Whittaker said after the fight. Whittaker was left with a nasty gash on the side of his head in the round, the product of another Till counter elbow. It was too little, too late for the up-and-comer, with all three judges scoring the fight for Whittaker by scores of 48-47.
Robert Whittaker def. Darren Till via unanimous choice (48-47, 48-47, 48-47).
Mauricio Rua def. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira through split choice (29-28, 28-29, 29-28).
Fabricio Werdum def. Alexander Gustafsson via first-round submission (armbar).
Carla Esparza def. Marina Rodriguez by means of split decision (28-29, 29-28, 30-27).
Paul Craig def. Gadzhimurad Antigulov via first-round submission (triangle choke).
With both males having scored knockdowns, the fight settled into a pattern controlled by feints and leg kicks from Whittaker. Both guys would choose their areas to let loose with huge shots, overhand rights from Whittaker and elbows and left hooks from Till. Whittaker was the busier fighter in the middle rounds, constructing up a lead on the scorecards that would eventually be the choosing aspect in the outcome.
” I tell you what, that battle was so stressful,” Whittaker stated after the fight. “Honestly, I hope the fans and everyone can value it because that, to me, was one of my most technical fights. … I needed to actually adjust on the go.”
Till finished the fight with a strong 5th round, scoring the more significant strikes of the set. Whittaker was left with a nasty gash on the side of his head in the round, the item of another Till counter elbow. But it was too little, far too late for the up-and-comer, with all 3 judges scoring the battle for Whittaker by ratings of 48-47.
Pushed after the fight on if he wished to get back to work and rematch Adesanya for the middleweight title, Whittaker stated, “Honestly, I wish to go house to my children and my partner.” He also said his main focus would be on helping his teammates get ready for their upcoming fights, a shift in focus for Whittaker, who had confessed to having problem with burnout after losing his champion last October.
CBS Sports was with you throughout the night providing updates, insights and analysis throughout the primary card. You can see the full results, summarizes and highlights of the action below.
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UFC Fight Night card and results
Ramazan Emeev def. Niklas Stolze via consentaneous choice (30-27, 30-27, 29-28).
Alex Oliveira def. Peter Sobotta via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).
Khamzat Chimaev def. Rhys McKee through first-round TKO (punches).
Pannie Kianzad def. Bethe Correia via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28).
Nathaniel Wood def. John Castaneda by means of unanimous choice (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).
