3 key questions ahead of UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. Till

Middleweight contenders Robert Whittaker and Darren Till will meet in Saturday's UFC Fight Night headliner at Flash Forum in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Here are three key questions heading into the event.

Is Whittaker on a downward slope?

Former champion Whittaker is still a top-ranked fighter, but there's reason to wonder if he's the same guy who held the undisputed title for nearly two years.

"The Reaper" was destroyed by Israel Adesanya and lost the middleweight belt in his most recent bout. Adesanya badly dropped Whittaker at the end of the first round before putting him away in the second.

Whittaker's loss came after an epic "Fight of the Year" candidate in 2018 against Yoel Romero. Whittaker edged out his foe via split decision, but he took a ton of damage and was nearly finished in the championship rounds. It's possible this led to his poor performance against Adesanya. It's also possible his brutal loss to "The Last Stylebender" won't do him any good moving forward.

Whittaker recently opened up about battling mental health issues over the past couple of years. He took a short break from the sport earlier in 2020 because of his problems. Whittaker said he hasn't felt like himself inside the Octagon since his first bout against Romero in 2017. Could that be a real factor, and could Whittaker return to full form on Saturday? It also wouldn't be surprising if the Australian is no longer a championship-caliber athlete after the damage he's taken in his past two fights.

Will Till get a title shot if he wins?

A title shot could be on the line for Till.

The former welterweight title challenger will likely get the winner of the Adesanya versus Paulo Costa fight, which is scheduled for September, if he emphatically beats Whittaker as an underdog.

Many believe Jared Cannonier deserves a crack at the belt, but there's no clear-cut No. 1 contender after Costa. Now is the perfect time for Till to swoop in and jump ahead of everyone. He's a popular fighter - more so than Cannonier or Jack Hermansson - with an incredible social-media game. Most of all, his fights are entertaining. He'd likely call out the winner of Adesanya-Costa in his postfight interview if he beats Whittaker, and that would only give his case for a title shot more momentum.

Overcoming Whittaker, who is still regarded as second-best in the division, is a big win for anybody. Till deserves a title shot if he's victorious.

I don't see a rematch happening so soon if Whittaker wins this weekend and Adesanya retains the title against Costa. Whittaker would need one more win. That would open the door for a title shot for Cannonier, who has won his last three fights. Whittaker could definitely get an opportunity to become a two-time champ if Costa upsets Adesanya.

What do you make of Gustafsson at heavyweight?

This should be a good move for Gustafsson, even though I'm always skeptical about fighters going up a weight class after exiting retirement.

The former light heavyweight title challenger decided to come back after retiring in May 2019 following a submission loss to Anthony Smith. He will meet former heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum on Saturday's main card.

Gustafsson weighed in at 240 pounds Friday morning, significantly heavier than the 205-pound limit he had to hit previously. The Swede didn't appear to be out of shape and that's a positive sign.

It's possible Gustafsson should have made this move a long time ago. He's challenged for the light heavyweight belt on three occasions and lost every time. Gustafsson is 6-foot-5 with a 79-inch reach and that sounds like a heavyweight to me.

This is a good matchup for his debut in the division. Werdum is getting older and he wasn't sharp in his Octagon return against Aleksei Oleinik earlier this year. Gustafsson wouldn't necessarily be considered a heavyweight contender if he gets past the Brazilian, but it would be a good start.

If Werdum wins, it might be a sign Gustafsson is actually best-suited for 205 pounds. Even if that does happen, I wouldn't take anything away from "The Mauler" for trying something new in hopes of getting back on track.