UFC on ESPN 14: Whittaker vs Till – Betting Preview
The Reaper is coming off KO loss to Israel Adesanya, while The Gorilla outstruck Kelvin Gastelum in a close fight and won by split decision.
The betting community is having trouble to clarify who’s the favourite here, as odds fluctuate around 50-50. But is this fight really a pick’em?
Robert Whittaker vs Darren Till
Whittaker is a dynamic and versatile striker. He has quick hands and combines punches with kicks. Rob likes to feint punches, double the attacks with one hand and finish combinations with head kicks. Whittaker has a lot of power, but he’s not throwing every punch with murderous intentions.
The former champion regularly attacks legs of his opponents with either side kicks to the knees or regular low kicks. Most of the time he’s fighting a kickboxing bout, but he likes to attempt quick charges to land several shots – his left hook is dangerous and right overhand is damn impressive.
His opponent, Darren Till is a southpaw counter striker, who likes to move forward, but doesn’t strike as frequently as Rob. The British has dangerous left hand, decent leg kicks and great takedown defence. He likes to feint punches with right jab to provoke reaction of his opponent and land the left cross.
Both fighters got solid wrestling background, but I expect Whittaker to have the advantage there. When it comes to striking, I see Robert as the more talented and faster kickboxer. He’s got the better cardio, more experience at the highest level and he lands more strikes per minute than Till.
However, The Reaper took a lot of damage in fights with Adesanya and Yoel Romero. I’m not sure how the KO loss affects his chin and attitude in the fight. Who knows if he will be equally aggressive and willing to exchange punches? There’s a small chance he shows up as a shadow of former self and gets hurts easily.
That being said I just can’t pass on Whittaker at those odds. There’s a big difference between Adesanya and Till. If Robert’s chin holds up I expect him to win by a decisive margin – probably on the scorecards. But KO victory… or loss wouldn’t really shock me.
My UFC betting pick: Robert Whittaker
Ohmbet odds: 1.88 (implied probability = 53%)
My probability: 60%
Article written by Maciej Grochowski
