Robert Whittaker Believes He’s Still ‘Championship Level’ After Narrow Win Over Darren Till

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Robert Whittaker had to do some soul searching after losing his middleweight crown to Israel Adesanya at UFC 243 last October.

“The Reaper” took a step toward a return to form at UFC on ESPN 14, as he garnered a narrow decision win over Darren Till in the evening’s headliner at Flash Forum in Abu Dhabi in Saturday night. Whittaker landed a knockdown in the second round, secured the fight’s only two takedowns and outlanded his opponent by a 69-to-41 margin in significant strikes.

Still, Whittaker acknowledged it was a tense fight filled with momentum swings, including a point in the first round where Till rocked the former champ with a standing elbow and powered him to the canvas.

“That was the most technical striking fight I’ve ever had. It was a chess match,” Whittaker said at Saturday’s post-fight press conference. “I got a bit antsy in the first round, and he made me pay for it. I just remember thinking, ‘Oh, not like this.’ 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.”

Ultimately, Whittaker received the nod from the judges in the form of three 48-47 scorecards. The Sydney resident was confident he had done enough to win prior to the announcement of the final verdict.

“I understood that it was a really close fight,” Whittaker 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.”

When Whittaker took a hiatus from MMA following his loss to Adesanya, he cited burnout and a desire to focus more on his family. Now he believes he’s back on track after a performance that wasn’t up to his usual standards. Perhaps he’ll be in line to face the Adesanya-Paul Henrique Costa winner down the line.

“Honestly, I am championship-level,” Whittaker 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. I think it was a good win. I’m a champion with the belt [or] without the belt. It doesn’t matter. It is what it is. I’m looking forward to getting back to work and just seeing how that next fight goes.”