Australia’s former UFC middleweight champ Rob Whittaker has revealed the gruesome injury he suffered at the hands of unbeaten contender Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 308 came about partly because of a physical weakness he’d been hiding for some time.
Whittaker’s prospects of securing another world title shot nosedived in Abu Dhabi on Sunday morning (AEDT), after he tapped out at the 3:34 mark of the opening round.
The 33-year-old Australian landed a couple of leg kicks but didn’t have the chance to throw a punch, as he was taken down after just 15 seconds.
He scrambled hard along the cage in an attempt to escape the clutches of the UAE-based Russian fighter, but suffered a gruesome injury to his mouth during a vicious face crank.
‘Holy cow. I think he messed up his jaw,’ Daniel Cormier said in commentary.
‘That is amazing he did that do Rob Whittaker. Holy smokes.’
Cormier later shared a photo of Whittaker’s injury, showing several of his bottom teeth pushed back into his mouth.
Whittaker has since cleared up exactly what happened, explaining that he has always had a problem with those particular teeth.
Robert Whittaker suffered a devastating first-round submission loss to unbeaten contender Khamzat Chimaev
Whittaker revealed that his teeth were pushed in during the face crank
‘It wasn’t the jaw – it was the teeth,’ he told Red Corner MMA.
‘The teeth got pushed in.
‘I’ve always kind of had loose teeth – they got looser.
‘It was the face crank. His forearm went straight on the bottom tooth. I didn’t even have a moment to turn the head or anything. It was on. It is what it is.
‘I just got caught in a bad position and the rest is history. The bottom teeth are my Achilles heel.
‘I’ve had them pushed in before, when I fought Dricus [Du Plessis] and they’ve never really recovered.’
Whittaker also released a statement about his health via Instagram.
‘Thank you everyone for all the love and support. It’s a tough gig sometimes but that’s the business,’ he wrote.
Chimaev is just the third person to beat Whittaker at middleweight
‘Big congratulations to Khamzat, he was the better man tonight and that’s all there is to it. I felt great, everything was on point and I was ready. My jaw is good, but my teeth were moved in. It’s a good excuse to fix them properly now haha.
‘I’m disappointed, but I come back better from every setback and every challenge so this is no different. I want to thank my team and everyone who supported me to get here. Time to go spend time with the family for a bit. Be back soon.’
Chimaev said he knew there was something wrong with the Aussie’s jaw.
‘I felt something wrong, a click,’ Chimaev said afterwards.
‘Thanks Rob. I love you my brother – you are a legend, I respect you took the fight with me because no-one wants to fight with me.’
Renowned grappler Chimaev, 30, started the fight as favourite despite being ranked 13th, 10 places below the Sydneysider.
They were originally due to fight in June, but Chimaev withdrew after falling ill
He improved his record to 14-0.
It was only Whittaker’s fourth loss in his last 19 fights over a 10-year period, but casts doubt over whether he will ever get another opportunity to fight for UFC gold.
