Sports medicine doctor says Robert Whittaker's jaw might have to be "wired shut for some time" following loss to Khamzat Chimaev
This past weekend at UFC 308, former UFC middlweight champion Robert Whittaker was dominated and finished in ways we'eve never been before. At the hands of divisional boogeyman Khamzat Chimaev, 'The Reaper' was taken down, controlled on the ground, and submitted inside the first round.
The submission, which was face crank, appeared to leave Whittaker's jaw severely damaged the moment Chimaev locked it in. The pain was so intantaenous that the Aussie violently tapped as soon as it was clamped in.
Sports medicine doctor and famous YouTuber Dr. Brian Sutterer provided an assessment of the severity of the damage to Robert Whittaker's lower jaw. Dr. Sutterer explained that Chimaev's choking arm was on Whittaker's mandible, causing that part of the mouth to break when the Chechen fighter cranked hard.
Upon examining a very graphic photo of Whittaker's mouth that showed some of his teeth displaced backwards into his mouth, Dr. Sutterer made this assessment (2:27):
"Now, treatment of this is going to be some type of surgery to put those teeth [and] that bone back in place. Plate, potentially braces, across the teeth. [There's a] real posibility here that Whittaker might end up having his jaw wired shut for some time. So this is a serious, serious injury."
Watch the full assessment here:
Robert Whittaker sends message to fans after loss at UFC 308
Always graceful and gracious in defeat, Robert Whittaker didn't waste time to provide updates for his fans after his devastating loss at UFC 308.
'The Reaper' posted a photo of himself on Instagram, all smiles with double thumbs up to show he's in good spirits despite the loss and the injury that came with is.
Whittaker wrote:
"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."
The former champ also expressed his disappointment and yet found some optimism in that he'll get the opportunity to heal up and spend more time with his family.
This is just another setback that the proud Aussie will overcome - as he has done so repeatedly in the past.