Whittaker vs Till: Whitaker has done something Till hasn't: he faced Romero twice and came away the victor. The larger question is what effect did that have on him long term. Till for his own part was stopped by Masvidal and Woodley (both welterweights) and fought a cautious fight against Gastelum. For all his bluster, Till doesn't always fight as the aggressive juggernaut he claims to be. His fight with Stephen Thompson and the Woodley fight show that he is largely unable and unwilling to lead. Whitaker isn't afraid to lead (he had to do so with Romero who looks to conserve energy over the course of the fight and blitz his way to success intermittently. The question is how intelligently does Whittaker lead the dance and the answer is probably just fine. Romero is as dangerous a fight as there is in any division on the feet due to his willingness to fight and ugly, boring fight but also blitz with a flying knee or whatever after lulling you into boredom for most of a round. I'm concerned about the damage toll of those 5 round fights with Romero but also suspect that Whittaker is smart enough to navigate the counter-striking of Till and if Woodley and Masvidal can put Till away, I have no doubt that Whittaker can hurt him and finish him as well. Whittaker's only semi recent loss other than Adesanya is to Wonderboy Thompson back in 2014 but given the number of strikers and heavy hitters he's faced since then I don't think Till can use that fight as an indicator of expected outcome. I pick Whittaker by TKO in round 3.
Lil Nog vs Shogun: God knows how this fight will go as both guys having such wildly intermittent success and loss in the UFC. Lil Nog has fought 8 times since 2011 compiling a record of 4-4 with wins over Tito Ortiz (yep), Rashad Evans, Cummins, and Alvey and dropping losses to Spann, Bader, Rua, and Rumble Johnson. Shogun has 13 times since late 2011 and compiled a record of 5-7-1. Shogun has fought most of the people of any era in any promotion worth fighting. Shogun has wins over Dan Henderson, Pedro, Lil Nog, Te Huna, Anderson and has dropped fights to Gustaffson, Anthony Smith, OSP, Dan Henderson etc.
Shogun and Lil Nog alike both have the ability to stop and be stopped by one another. This fight is a pick 'em to me as both guys are still dangerous and crafty as veteran professional fighters but their mileage is the likely determinant in the outcome of this fight. I will go with Lil Nog due to less accumulated damange since their initial fight.
Gustaffson vs Werdum: Interesting. Seeing Werdum fade against the plodding march you down style of Oleinik (I say that as a huge fan of Oleinik) doesn't bode well for a fleet of foot Gustaffson who can work off his jab and we know fight for 5 rounds. How well Gustaffson carries extra weight for 3 rounds could have him looking like OSP in that fight awhile back, but I don't think that's the case. I think Gustaffson jabs his way to a decision over the course of 3 rounds.
Lil Nog vs Shogun: God knows how this fight will go as both guys having such wildly intermittent success and loss in the UFC. Lil Nog has fought 8 times since 2011 compiling a record of 4-4 with wins over Tito Ortiz (yep), Rashad Evans, Cummins, and Alvey and dropping losses to Spann, Bader, Rua, and Rumble Johnson. Shogun has 13 times since late 2011 and compiled a record of 5-7-1. Shogun has fought most of the people of any era in any promotion worth fighting. Shogun has wins over Dan Henderson, Pedro, Lil Nog, Te Huna, Anderson and has dropped fights to Gustaffson, Anthony Smith, OSP, Dan Henderson etc.
Shogun and Lil Nog alike both have the ability to stop and be stopped by one another. This fight is a pick 'em to me as both guys are still dangerous and crafty as veteran professional fighters but their mileage is the likely determinant in the outcome of this fight. I will go with Lil Nog due to less accumulated damange since their initial fight.
Gustaffson vs Werdum: Interesting. Seeing Werdum fade against the plodding march you down style of Oleinik (I say that as a huge fan of Oleinik) doesn't bode well for a fleet of foot Gustaffson who can work off his jab and we know fight for 5 rounds. How well Gustaffson carries extra weight for 3 rounds could have him looking like OSP in that fight awhile back, but I don't think that's the case. I think Gustaffson jabs his way to a decision over the course of 3 rounds.
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