After being submitted by Khamzat
Chimaev at UFC 308,
Robert
Whittaker recently underwent oral surgery to implant six teeth
in his lower jaw area.
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„His middle teeth were unstable since the fight with Dricus [Du
Plessis]. Chimaev’s [face crank] was exactly on top of these three
front teeth that broke immediately,” Whittaker coach Alex Prates
told Sherdog.com.
According to Prates, Whittaker returned to training on Monday
following the procedure — albeit with some limitations.
„After he had his six teeth implanted, he returned to training on
Monday, but without any contact. He will train muay thai, run,
everything —but without contact,” Prates said. “Maybe he will still
have an operation on his elbow to remove some bone fragments, but
we haven’t decided yet. It’s a minor surgery, but it would cost
another month. Our plan is to return to the Octagon in June.”
Another Prates pupil, Jacob
Malkoun, has a UFC bout scheduled for Feb. 15 in Las Vegas
against Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace Rodolfo
Vieira.
„I think it’s a sensational fight for both of them,” Prates said.
“The winner should get into the Top 15. Jacob has four professional
boxing fights. So I don’t see much mystery. Jacob has some
advantage on the feet and Rodolfo has a big advantage on the
ground. I’m very confident in Jacob’s victory.”