Robert Whittaker is hoping he can make his bout with Darren Till a catchweight.
Whittaker is scheduled to clash with Till on Aug. 15. The bout is being planned for Dublin, Ireland. With the coronavirus pandemic in effect, gyms around the world are closed. This has made it difficult for fighters to prepare.
Whittaker Proposes Catchweight Bout To Till
It’s no secret that UFC president Dana White is against catchweight bouts. It was reported that during a call to fighters, the UFC boss said there would be no catchweight bouts despite the circumstances. That hasn’t stopped Whittaker from trying.
Speaking to ESPN’s Ariel Helwani, Whittaker explained why fighting Till at a catchweight would be ideal (h/t BJPenn.com).
“I really want to come sort of an agreement with Darren because I feel like he gets it. That we just don’t train at all, we just don’t train, we do a catchweight at like ’95 and just rock up,” Whittaker said to ESPN. “Bro, I love that. I’m sure he would love that too. We just dip and chips it up until August and get in there and light it up. He gets it.”
It didn’t take Till long to respond favorably to Whittaker’s proposal.
“It’s not even a thought… YES.”
Whittaker will be looking to get back on the horse after losing the UFC middleweight title. He was stopped in the second round via TKO against Israel Adesanya back in Oct. 2019. It was his first loss since Feb. 2014.
As for Till, he’s hoping to capitalize on his split decision victory over Kelvin Gastelum. It was his first middleweight bout under the UFC banner. A win over Whittaker could very well earn Till a UFC middleweight title shot, most likely against the winner of a potential clash between Adesanya and Paulo Costa.
