Robert Whittaker says he came through one of his most stressful tests in the UFC as he bounced back against Darren Till in Abu Dhabi on Sunday to prove he is "championship-level".
The former middleweight champion, 29, defeated his English opponent by unanimous decision in the headline bout at UFC Fight Night 3, which closed out the inaugural, four-event Fight Island.
Whittaker has not fought since October, when he lost his belt to Israel Adesanya in Melbourne – a reverse that prompted he to take time away from the sport as he cited burnout.
Against Till, the Australian was knocked down in the opening round, but rebounded to take an incredibly close-run fight at Flash Forum. All three judges scored it 48-47.
Asked afterwards how he felt, Whittaker (21-5 MMA, 12-3 UFC) said: “Good, I guess. Really, really relieved. Obviously there was a lot of pressure and stress going into this fight. I’m just happy I got the result we came here for.
“I’m happy that I got to showcase some of my skill sets and open up. I’ve got to fight adversity in the fight again. It was a great fight, a stressful fight. That was the most technical-striking fight I’ve ever had. I got a bit antsy in the first round, and he made me pay for it.
“But honestly, I got back up, and it was like ‘I got to get back to work, change it up a little bit’. It was just a chess match from then. He was waiting for me to come in. I was waiting for him to come in.”
Whittaker concluded the contest with a bad cut above his ear, but believed his late takedown might have swayed the judges.
“I understood that it was a really close fight,” he said. “I think the second round was definitely mine; third round, fourth round could have gone either way. But I think I showed my championship-level mentality and experience in that last round - especially where it was so close to the hands in the stand-up game. Then to finish it off taking him down was a big boom in the scorecards for me.”
Whittaker said he was looking forward to getting home to spend time with his wife and children, before even contemplating what’s next. He remains the division’s No 1-ranked challenger.
“Honestly, I am championship-level,” he said. “Everyone can see that. Everyone always knows that. I wasn’t myself last fight. I believe that. Not to take anything away from [Adesanya]; he’s a great striker, but I wasn’t myself last fight.
“It was a good win. I’m a champion with the belt, without the belt. It doesn’t matter. I’m looking forward to getting back to work and just seeing how that next fight goes.”
Till (18-3-1 MMA, 6-3-1 UFC) confirmed afterwards that he blew his knee in the second round following a front kick from Whittaker, but disguised it until the end of the fight. He said he will most likely need surgery, meaning a third outing having moved up to middleweight might have to wait.
On the defeat, Till said: “I’ve never felt like this after a loss. I feel OK. He was tough. It was probably one of the toughest fights I’ve been in. It was just so stressful. It was such a chess match. Neither guy wants to throw, and when they threw they were looking to knock out.
“I caught him more than he caught me with the power, three or four times, in the first round especially. But I think it was probably 2-2 going into the fifth, and maybe the judges scored the takedown, but I was getting up every time. I don’t know how it works. Close fight. He’s a former champion. I’m up there. I’ve shown it, especially striking."
On a possible rematch, he added: “If Rob doesn’t get the title shot, I would love to go to New Zealand and fight with him. Maybe I lacked a few things we worked on in the gym. It was disappointing. But I sit here saying convincingly I’m going to be the champion. Either one could’ve been the guy tonight.
“I feel like we both won the fight. It was a clinically neat match. Going to get a bit of surgery now. I want to get back in the game. I’ll fix that, and there’s millions of fights out there for me. I’m one of the top guys in this organisation, and I’m going to continue to be.”
Elsewhere, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua defeated Antonio Rogerio Nogueira in a split decision in the co-main event to complete their trilogy with a perfect 3-0.
The fight most probably marked Nogueira’s last competitive outing. Also, Fabricio Werdum did not rule out retirement following his first-round submission victory against Alexander Gustafsson, who was debuting at heavyweight.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Ammar 808:
Maghreb United
Sofyann Ben Youssef
Glitterbeat
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
RACE CARD AND SELECTIONS
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,200m
5,30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 1,200m
6pm: The President’s Cup Listed (TB) Dh380,000 1,400m
6.30pm: The President’s Cup Group One (PA) Dh2,500,000 2,200m
7pm: Arabian Triple Crown Listed (PA) Dh230,000 1,600m
7.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 1,400m
The National selections
5pm: RB Hot Spot
5.30pm: Dahess D’Arabie
6pm: Taamol
6.30pm: Rmmas
7pm: RB Seqondtonone
7.30pm: AF Mouthirah
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final:
First leg: Liverpool 5 Roma 2
Second leg: Wednesday, May 2, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
TV: BeIN Sports, 10.45pm (UAE)
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Where to donate in the UAE
The Emirates Charity Portal
You can donate to several registered charities through a “donation catalogue”. The use of the donation is quite specific, such as buying a fan for a poor family in Niger for Dh130.
The General Authority of Islamic Affairs & Endowments
The site has an e-donation service accepting debit card, credit card or e-Dirham, an electronic payment tool developed by the Ministry of Finance and First Abu Dhabi Bank.
Al Noor Special Needs Centre
You can donate online or order Smiles n’ Stuff products handcrafted by Al Noor students. The centre publishes a wish list of extras needed, starting at Dh500.
Beit Al Khair Society
Beit Al Khair Society has the motto “From – and to – the UAE,” with donations going towards the neediest in the country. Its website has a list of physical donation sites, but people can also contribute money by SMS, bank transfer and through the hotline 800-22554.
Dar Al Ber Society
Dar Al Ber Society, which has charity projects in 39 countries, accept cash payments, money transfers or SMS donations. Its donation hotline is 800-79.
Dubai Cares
Dubai Cares provides several options for individuals and companies to donate, including online, through banks, at retail outlets, via phone and by purchasing Dubai Cares branded merchandise. It is currently running a campaign called Bookings 2030, which allows people to help change the future of six underprivileged children and young people.
Emirates Airline Foundation
Those who travel on Emirates have undoubtedly seen the little donation envelopes in the seat pockets. But the foundation also accepts donations online and in the form of Skywards Miles. Donated miles are used to sponsor travel for doctors, surgeons, engineers and other professionals volunteering on humanitarian missions around the world.
Emirates Red Crescent
On the Emirates Red Crescent website you can choose between 35 different purposes for your donation, such as providing food for fasters, supporting debtors and contributing to a refugee women fund. It also has a list of bank accounts for each donation type.
Gulf for Good
Gulf for Good raises funds for partner charity projects through challenges, like climbing Kilimanjaro and cycling through Thailand. This year’s projects are in partnership with Street Child Nepal, Larchfield Kids, the Foundation for African Empowerment and SOS Children's Villages. Since 2001, the organisation has raised more than $3.5 million (Dh12.8m) in support of over 50 children’s charities.
Noor Dubai Foundation
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the Noor Dubai Foundation a decade ago with the aim of eliminating all forms of preventable blindness globally. You can donate Dh50 to support mobile eye camps by texting the word “Noor” to 4565 (Etisalat) or 4849 (du).
Various Artists
Habibi Funk: An Eclectic Selection Of Music From The Arab World (Habibi Funk)
Company profile
Company name: Suraasa
Started: 2018
Founders: Rishabh Khanna, Ankit Khanna and Sahil Makker
Based: India, UAE and the UK
Industry: EdTech
Initial investment: More than $200,000 in seed funding
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
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Biography
Favourite Meal: Chicken Caesar salad
Hobbies: Travelling, going to the gym
Inspiration: Father, who was a captain in the UAE army
Favourite read: Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter
Favourite film: The Founder, about the establishment of McDonald's
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
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- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
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- Price: Not announced yet
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Second leg, February 27
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Hobbies: I enjoy travelling, experiencing new things, painting, reading, flying, and the French language
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Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
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On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
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Fuel consumption: 6.8L/100km
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Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
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Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
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Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
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It Was Just an Accident
Director: Jafar Panahi
Stars: Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr
Rating: 4/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
