đłđ©žRobert Whittaker talking about his jaw
injury:âIt wasnât a jaw, it were the teeth. The teeth got pushed in.
It was a face crank. His forearm went straight onto bottom tooth. I
didnât even had a moment to the head or anything.âđ„ @RedCorner_MMA
â«ïž pic.twitter.com/GkPAjLMN7Oâ Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight)
October 27, 2024
Robert
Whittaker isnât 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
âBobby Knucklesâ 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 Whittakerâs 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,â he told Red
Corner MMA. âThe 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, theyâre vulnerable. Itâs my Achilles heel. Iâve had them
pushed in before when I fought Dricus, and theyâve never really
recovered⊠Itâs from an injury when I was young.â
Whittakerâs 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.
âThank you everyone for all the love and support. Itâs a tough gig
sometimes but thatâs the business,â Whittaker wrote on Instagram.
âBig congratulations to Khamzat, he was the better man tonight and
thatâs 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. Itâs a
good excuse to fix them properly now haha. Iâm 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. â