Darren Till’s next middleweight outing is expected to come against former champ Robert Whittaker. On Wednesday, ESPN was first to report that Till vs. Whittaker was being looked at to serve as the main event of UFC Dublin. The card is the UFC’s first trip to Dublin in roughly five years.
While contracts have not been signed, both fighters have agreed to the bout.
Whittaker (20-5) had been scheduled to fight at UFC 248 last weekend, against American Jared Cannonier. He was forced to withdraw from the bout, however, citing personal reasons. As a result, Whittaker has yet to compete since losing his 185lb title to Israel Adesanya at UFC 243 last year.
Darren Till (18-2-1) will enter the August match-up off a win over Kelvin Gastelum in his middleweight debut at UFC 244. Till previously challenged Tyron Woodley for the promotion’s welterweight title, but came up short in that effort. The English fighter followed that up with a loss to Jorge Masvidal, before snapping the skid with the win over Gastelum.
Till also holds notable wins over Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson and Donald Cerrone.
UFC Dublin takes place August 15, 2020 at the 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland. The last time the octagon was in the building, Paddy Holohan was submitted by Louis Smolka in a flyweight main event. Coincidentally, Till was also part of that card, fighting to a majority draw against Nicolas Dalby. The bout was Till’s second in the UFC.
