UFC Fight Night: Robert Whittaker vs. Darren Till — How to watch and stream, plus full analysis

11:58 AM ET

Robert Whittaker fights on Saturday for the first time since losing his UFC middleweight championship in October, taking on former welterweight Darren Till in the main event of UFC Fight Night in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

It is the fourth and final event in the UFC’s two-week run on Yas Island, which the promotion has dubbed “Fight Island.”

Whittaker (20-5) lost his belt to Israel Adesanya, ending a nine-fight winning streak dating back to 2014. He is No. 2 in ESPN’s middleweight rankings.

The sixth-ranked Till (18-2-1) moved up from 170 pounds in November and defeated Kelvin Gastelum, who seven months earlier had competed for an interim 185-pound title.

The fights are on ESPN and ESPN+, with the main card starting at 8 p.m. ET and the prelims at 5 p.m.

There are also former champions in the three fights preceding the headliner. Ex-light heavyweight titlist Mauricio Rua faces fellow veteran Antonio Rogerio Nogueira in the co-main event. Fabricio Werdum, a former heavyweight champ, welcomes longtime 205-pounder Alexander Gustafsson to the division. And Carla Esparza, the UFC’s inaugural strawweight champion, takes on Marina Rodriguez.