- Robert Whittaker revealed that he injured his loose teeth at UFC 308 and not his jaw
- “The Reaper” said it wasn’t the first time his teeth got pushed back in a fight
Robert Whittaker made it clear that it was his teeth that got injured and not his jaw in his submission loss to Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 308.
Robert Whittaker just panic tapped to Khamzat Chimaev #UFC308 pic.twitter.com/cuXiLtKFIH
— CAP MMA (@CAPMMAcom) October 26, 2024
It was the teeth
Speaking to Red Corner MMA, “The Reaper” gladly let everybody know that he is fine despite the gruesome injury he suffered. According to Whittaker, contrary to what many thought, Chimaev didn’t break his jaw but instead, it was his loose teeth that got pushed back.
“Very disappointed. It is what it is, came to fight. [But] he was the better man on that day. I felt great. Everything was was on point and it just wasn’t my night. I’m alright, it wasn’t the jaw, it was the teeth. 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,” Whittaker explained.
“If I didn’t have such vulnerable teeth maybe I would have had another second to turn my head. Or maybe not. [laughs] I just got caught in a bad position and the rest is history,” he added.
Whittaker has been dealing with it
Whittaker further revealed that his teeth has always been an issue everytime he fights. In fact, the former UFC middleweight champion revealed that it also got pushed back during his fight with Dricus du Plessis at UFC 290.
“The bottom teeth… they’re vulnerable. It’s like, my Achilles heel, I’ve had them pushed in before when I fought Dricus [du Plessis], and they’ve never really recovered. It’s from an injury when I was young,” Whittaker said.
The brutal loss to Chimaev saw Whittaker snapping his two-fight winning streak. Apart from that, the defeat would also see “The Reaper” dropping down significantly in the UFC rankings and by contrast, Chimaev could break into the division’s Top 5.
Watch Whittaker’s full interview below:
