Robert Whittaker has spoken out about being forced off the UFC 275 event.
Whittaker was expected to collide with Marvin Vettori on June 11. “The Reaper” had made it clear that he didn’t want to wait too long to have his next fight after falling short in a rematch against UFC Middleweight Champion Israel Adesanya.
As plans will be, plans will go awry as Whittaker suffered an injury and won’t be fighting at UFC 275.
Robert Whittaker On Injury
During an appearance on Submission Radio, Robert Whittaker said that while he didn’t want to go into details on the injury he sustained, he admits it has left him frustrated.
“I don’t wanna get into it too much cause I don’t wanna highlight my injury. I had an injury leading into the camp and I didn’t have the fight signed then, so I was cool with it just healing and everything. Then the fight got presented to me and everything just lined up. Like I mentioned, it was Singapore, it was Vettori. I was excited to get back in there and get back to work. I’d go back to the gym that week and I just felt pain. I wasn’t comfortable with the way I was able to move and everything.”
Taking Flak From Keyboard Warriors
Whittaker went on to say that some MMA fans directed anger toward him for the change in plans.
“Let me say, the MMA community sometimes can be bloody brutal. They were just hammering me. It’s like, mate [laughs]. The thing is, trust me I was kept up at night tossing and turning knowing I had to make a decision. It was killing me.
“Honestly, it’s been a rough and stressful period trying to work out the injury and still prepare for the fight, and then live with the idea that, ‘Hey, the doctors don’t think I’m gonna be ready for this fight.’ It was stressful and it was a pain. What stung with me is let’s say I go into the fight half-cooked and I lose, no one’s gonna care for my excuses.”