Robert Whittaker talking about his jaw injury:
“It wasn’t a jaw, it were the teeth. The teeth got pushed in.
AdvertisementIt was a face crank. His forearm went straight onto bottom tooth. I didn’t even had a moment to the head or anything.”
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Robert Whittaker isn’t seriously injured following his submission loss against Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 308.
Whittaker and Chimaev met in potential middleweight title eliminator in the co-main event at UFC 308 on Saturday at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. Chimaev took Whittaker down early and had barely locked in a face crank when “Bobby Knuckles” quickly tapped 3:34 into the opening round.
Whittaker could be seen telling his corner that there was something wrong with his jaw. Subsequent images of Whittaker’s mouth revealed a ghastly injury that left his teeth scattered. While it initially seemed to be due to a broken jaw, Whittaker clarified that it was actually his teeth that got pushed in.
According to the Whittaker, loose teeth have been a lingering issue with him, and they also needed some repairing prior to his last loss against Dricus Du Plessis. Whittaker speculated that more sturdy teeth might have allowed him to take another moment to turn his face and avoid the injury.
“I’m all right. It wasn’t the jaw; it was the teeth,” he told Red Corner MMA. “The teeth got pushed in. I’ve always had loose teeth, and they got looser. It was the face crank. His forearm went straight on the bottom tooth, I didn’t have a moment to turn the head or anything. If I didn’t have such vulnerable teeth, maybe I would have had another second to turn my head. Or maybe not. I just got caught in a bad position, and the rest is history. My bottom teeth, they’re vulnerable. It’s my Achilles heel. I’ve had them pushed in before when I fought Dricus, and they’ve never really recovered… It’s from an injury when I was young.”
Whittaker’s loss to Chimaev snapped a two-fight winning streak and made him 3-3 in his last six UFC appearances. Whittaker also issued a statement promising to come back stronger after recovering from the injury.
“Thank you everyone for all the love and support. It’s a tough gig sometimes but that’s the business,” Whittaker wrote on Instagram. “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. ”
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