Robert Whittaker vs Darren Till: How to watch UFC Fight Island 3 main event online and on TV tonight

Liverpool’s Till hopes to set up a middleweight title shot by defeating the Australian former champ

Liverpool’s Darren Till takes to the Octagon on Saturday evening for a main-event contest against former UFC middleweight titleholder Robert Whittaker on Fight Island.

The clash is Till’s second at 185 lbs after his winning jump up from welterweight against Kelvin Gastelum, while his Australian opponent is hoping to respond positively after losing his belt to Israel Adesanya on home turf last year.

UFC Fight Island 3, held on Abu Dhabi’s Yas Island, promises a stacked card that also includes Alexander Gustafsson’s heavyweight debut against former champion Fabricio Werdum.

Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua is also in action as the former light heavyweight titleholder competes against Antonio Rogerio Nogueira for the third time.

Elsewhere, Scotland’s Paul Craig takes on Gadzhimurad Antigulov, and former women’s strawweight champ Carla Esparza faces Marina Rodriguez. Here’s all you need to know about UFC Fight Island 3:

What time does it start?

The preliminary card will begin at 10pm BST on Saturday 25 July. The main card follows at 1am BST on Sunday morning, with the main event between Whittaker and Till expected to get under way around 3am BST.

How can I watch it?

UFC Fight Island 3 will air on BT Sport 2 in the UK and on ESPN+ in the US.

BT Sport subscribers can also stream the event live on the BT Sport website and app.

Darren Till defeated Kelvin Gastelum via split decision in his last fight (PA)

Odds

Whittaker 8/11

Till 11/10

Prediction

The safe bet is probably Whittaker, who has more experience and more tools to win than Till.

That said, there are questions over Whittaker’s form and mentality after his defeat by Adesanya; ‘The Reaper’ didn’t look himself in that bout, which was his first in almost a year-and-a-half and ended via second-round TKO. The Aussie also later opened up on the burnout he had experienced before and after the fight.

Against someone with Till’s punching power, Whittaker must be fully focused and cannot afford to utilise the same linear, repetitive blitzes that cost him last time out. If the former champ is more patient and technical, which he can be, he should be able to pick apart the Liverpudlian.

Hesitantly, Indy Sport is predicting Whittaker via third-round TKO.

Former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker (Getty Images)

Full card

Main card

Robert Whittaker vs Darren Till (middleweight)

Mauricio Rua vs Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (light heavyweight)

Alexander Gustafsson vs Fabricio Werdum (heavyweight)

Marina Rodriguez vs Carla Esparza (women’s strawweight)

Gadzhimurad Antigulov vs Paul Craig (light heavyweight)

Alex Oliveira vs Peter Sobotta (welterweight)

Khamzat Chimaev vs Rhys McKee (welterweight)

Prelims

Francisco Trinaldo vs Jai Herbert (lightweight)

Nicolas Dalby vs Jesse Ronson (welterweight)

Movsar Evloev vs Mike Grundy (featherweight)

Tanner Boser vs. Raphael Pessoa (heavyweight)

Pannie Kianzad vs Bethe Correia (women’s bantamweight)

Ramazan Emeev vs Niklas Stolze (welterweight)

Nathaniel Wood vs John Castaneda (bantamweight)