Robert Whittaker is not the only teeth dislodgment Khamzat Chimaev has caused; A throwback to when 'Borz' broke an ex-UFC contender's teeth
The MMA world was baffled after witnessing what a full-powered neck crank from Khamzat Chimaev could do to the jaw of his rivals. However, Robert Whittaker isn't the only one who had to consult a dentist after experiencing Chimaev's choke.
Chimaev boosted his undefeated record to 14-0 after his victory against Whittaker at UFC 308, but, the neck crank via which he won caused three of Whittaker's lower incisors to break out of alignment. Former UFC champ-champ Daniel Cormier bewildered fans by posting the snaps of Whittaker's dismantled jaw.
The Chimaev vs. Whittaker fight at UFC 308 is still in the limelight, largely due to this incident. However, not many know that Chimaev's power made an almost similar impact on another former UFC fighter as well.
In the latter half of 2020, the former UFC middleweight Darren Stewart appeared in an interview with 'Abz Talks' where he mentioned how a similar neck crank from Chimaev had caused one of his dental fillings to pop out. Stewart also stated that all of this happened amidst one of their practice sessions, back when Chimaev hadn't made his UFC debut:
"Look here bro, the guy [Chimaev] took a filling out of my tooth just by cranking my neck. He is so strong, bro."
Check out Stewart's comments about Khamzat Chimaev below (0:37):
Robert Whittaker issues first statement after his loss against Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 308
The Khamzat Chimaev vs. Robert Whittaker fight served as the co-main event of the night. Usually, the octagon interviewer interviews both fighters after the bout. But the terrible condition of Whittaker's jaw didn't leave scope for the same.
This is why MMA fans didn't hear anything from him after his loss against Chimaev. However, 'The Reaper' broke his silence recently with an Instagram update:
"Thank you everyone for all the love and support. It’s a tough gig sometimes but that’s the business. Big congratulations to Khamzat, he was the better man tonight and that’s 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. It’s a good excuse to fix them properly now haha. I’m 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 👊🏽🙏"