Ex-UFC champ Whittaker back on track with decision over Till

Former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker earned his first victory in two years Sunday, winning a unanimous decision over Darren Till on Fight Island.

Veteran heavyweight Fabrício Werdum finished Alexander Gustafsson by armbar submission midway through first round, and Maurício “Shogun” Rua got an entertaining split-decision victory over fellow Brazilian veteran Antônio Rogério gueira in last of four UFC shows in two weeks from mixed martial arts promotion's fan-free bubble in Middle East.

main event was a messy, technical fight that turned into an encouraging step forward for Whittaker (21-5), who ended victory with a smile and a horrifically bloody cut above his left ear.

Whittaker won his middleweight belt in 2017, but Australian brawler defended it just once and missed significant time with injuries. He lost title last October to New Zealand's Israel Adesanya, and Whittaker n withdrew from a scheduled comeback fight because he felt burned out on MMA.

He didn't have an easy return, but ex-champ still handled his matchup with Till (18-3-1), touted British prospect.

“That fight was so stressful,” Whittaker said. “I hope fans and everybody can appreciate it. That was one of most technical fights I’ve ever had to fight. We both knew each or’s strengths. I had to really adapt on go.”

Till dropped Whittaker with a sneaky elbow in a strong first round for Englishman, but Whittaker kcked down Till in second and n hurt him with elbows on ground. next three rounds weren't quite as exciting, but Whittaker appeared to land more accurate strikes while fighting at his preferred distance.

Till still caught Whittaker with a late shot that opened a major cut on Whittaker's head, but all three judges scored it 48-47 for Whittaker.

Till was among UFC’s brightest rising stars until welterweight champ Tyron Woodley stopped him in September 2018. Till n got kcked out by Jorge Masvidal in London, but rebounded with a narrow win over Kelvin Gastelum last vember.

After returning from a stopp due to coronavirus pandemic with shows in Florida and Nevada, UFC has spent July on Yas Island, popular Abu Dhabi tourist destination. shows all started before dawn to reach rth American audiences.

UFC has several upcoming shows scheduled for gym on its corporate campus in Las Vegas, but President Dana White has said he expects to be back at Fight Island later this year, particularly if pandemic worsens in U.S.

38-year-old Rua (27-11-1) and 44-year-old gueira (23-10) put on an entertaining performance in ir third fight in a rivalry that began 15 years ago. Rua won all three of those bouts, but he barely won this lively striking matchup, triumphing 29-28 on two cards.

“I am happiest man in world today,” said Rua, who has won five of his last seven fights. “Every fight, gueira has made it hard. I took one more step in my career tonight.”

gueira said he probably will retire after this defeat, although his reluctance was visible. twin bror of fellow UFC veteran Antônio Rodrigo gueira has been a pro MMA fighter for 19 years, including last 11 in UFC.

“I kw I can (still) fight very well, but I think it’s time for new generation to come," gueira said.

Werdum (24-9-1) earned his first victory since 2017 with an impressive submission of Gustafsson (18-7), former light heavyweight title contender who briefly retired last year.

Werdum turns 43 next week, but famed jiu-jitsu practitioner took apart Gustafsson on ground for an armbar. Gustafsson, who nearly beat Jon Jones for light heavyweight title in 2013, has lost three straight fights and five of seven.

On undercard, welterweight Khamzat Chimaev set a UFC record with his second victory in only 10 days, finishing welterweight Rhys McKee with punches just 3:09 into first round.

Chimaev (8-0) made his UFC debut as a middleweight in Abu Dhabi on July 15, stopping John Phillips with a choke in second round despite fighting on short tice in a higher weight class. His 10-day gap between victories is shortest in UFC history since end of one-night tournament competition, breaking Chas Skelly's record of 13 days in 2014.

“I can fight (again) after one hour,” Chimaev said with a smile. “Maybe if you give me a minute, if somebody is injured, just tell me. I'm going to smash everybody. ... How many fighters in my division? I can smash whole division. Easy work, easy money."

Im credits: AP