Sports doctor explains Robert Whittaker's "absolutely terrible" UFC 308 injury: "Technically, it's not a true jaw fracture"
Brian Sutterer, a renowned sports doctor, recently provided an in-depth analysis of the severity of the injury Robert Whittaker sustained at UFC 308. Last Saturday, 'The Reaper' suffered his first-ever submission defeat in the UFC, which also left him with noticeable dental damage courtesy of Khamzat Chimaev's brutal rear-naked choke in the first round.
Following the bout, images of Whittaker’s mouth emerged on social media, revealing his teeth displaced at an unnatural angle due to the pressure from the submission.
During a recent appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, Sutterer explained that the former UFC middleweight champion didn’t actually fracture his jaw; instead, the lower section of the bone supporting the teeth broke and was pushed backward:
"What we were seeing in that picture was just absolutely terrible... Basically, this lower portion of the bone, where those teeth are anchored, broke. That's why you see those three teeth still attached together but pushed back into his mouth. So technically, it's not a true jaw fracture like we typically think about in combat sports, but you still have a break in the lower portion of the jaw."
Sutterer further noted that if the rest of Whittaker's jaw is intact, he will only need to have braces wired in to reposition his teeth back to their original alignment.
Check out Brian Sutterer's comments below (9:40):
'The Reaper' was on the ascent toward another title shot, having built a two-fight win streak with impressive victories over Ikram Aliskerov and Paulo Costa earlier this year. However, with his loss at UFC 308, Whittaker's aspirations for title contention have been put on hold for the time being.
Robert Whittaker talks about his chronic dental condition
During a recent interview with Red Corner MMA, Robert Whittaker disclosed that Khamzat Chimaev's submission at UFC 308 exposed a longstanding dental issue he had been experiencing.
Whittaker shared that this dental problem was the primary reason he tapped out so quickly, rather than the possibility of 'Borz' dislocating his jaw with the choke:
"It wasn’t the jaw. It was the teeth. The teeth got pushed in. I’ve kind of always had loose teeth, and they got looser. It was the face crank. His forearm went straight on the bottom tooth. I didn’t even have a moment to turn my head or anything. It was on. It is what it is... My bottom teeth, they’re vulnerable. It’s 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."
Check out Robert Whittaker's comments below (0:15):