When Robert Whittaker tapped nearly instantly to Khamzat Chimaev’s neck crank, basically a submission that is not a choke but seeks to crush one’s jaw, fans wondered if he injured his face earlier in the fight.
Now the former featherweight champion has revealed in an interview with Red Corner MMA that his injury is neither new nor a jaw injury — he actually sustained a lower mandibular wound in his childhood and it’s “always been a weakness.”
Robert Whittaker talks about his injury and says his teeth have always been vulnerable since he was young:
“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… pic.twitter.com/w9bbgresmS
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) October 27, 2024
Still, credit must also go to Khamzat Chimaev. Dricus du Plessis also hurt Rob’s teeth in their fight, but only Chimaev could get the submission locked in clean and tight enough to force the notoriously tough Whittaker, who once survived ten rounds with Yoel Romero, to tap.
The images of his teeth injury are particularly gruesome, so we offer a caution: content warning to any and all readers.
Per doctor David Abbassi on Instagram, Whittaker likely has at least two fracture lines in his lower mandible which caused that part of his flesh, bone, and three teeth to go “floating,” i.e. flopping around in his mouth, connected to the rest of him by only a strip of flesh.
Robert Whittaker statement on Instagram
“Congratulations to Khamzat, he was the better man tonight and that’s all there is to it.”
“My jaw is good, my teeth were moved in. It’s a good excuse to fix them properly now haha.” pic.twitter.com/WmlN0vpOqG
— ACD MMA (@acdmma_) October 27, 2024
This is a gruesome reminder of the “game” that fighters play to provide entertainment to fans across the world.
However, Whittaker was aware of the risks and says now he can have a reconstructive injury that he has been putting off because he did not want to take time away from his job, fighting in a cage for money.
Thankfully ‘The Reaper’ seems to have had the injury fixed in a more temporary manner, and he is able to be his normal cheerful self in interviews and with his family.
Read the full article here
