Tom Aspinall reacts to Khamzat Chimaev's jaw-breaking win over Robert Whittaker at UFC 308: "This has hurt my soul a little bit"
Tom Aspinall was shattered to see Robert Whittaker get brutalized with a jaw-breaking submission by Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 308.
For context, Chimaev earned a first-round submission win over Whittaker via a face crank, which not only broke the Australian's jaw but also dislodged three of his bottom teeth, causing them to float backward.
Speaking about the fight in a recent segment on his YouTube channel, Aspinall claimed he thought 'The Reaper's' experience would give him the upper hand in the fight.
Even after seeing the former middleweight champion being forced into some compromising positions by 'Borz', the Englishman kept hope that Whittaker would find his stride as the fight progressed. Elaborating on the bout, Aspinall said:
"Unfortunately for me, this has hurt my soul a little bit... Robert Whittaker, we know, has been there a million times. He weathered the storm against guys like Paulo Costa, against guys like Yoel Romero... So on paper that looked like of course, you can weather the storm against a guy like Khamzat Chimaev. Well, we were wrong. I was wrong. I thought that Robert Whittaker's experience would go out there and he would be able to... take over later on in the round, in the fight."
Despite being sad for Whittaker, Aspinall acknowledged Chimaev's grappling prowess, claiming that the Chechen-born UAE national has inspired him to work on his own grappling.
The win at UFC 308 will elevate 'Borz' to the No. 3 spot on the middleweight ladder. While Dana White has promised Sean Strickland the next crack at middleweight kingpin Dricus du Plessis, Chimaev might be the favorite to fight the winner of the match-up.
Khamzat Chimaev felt "bad" after realizing he had broken Robert Whittaker's jaw
While Khamzat Chimaev was happy about clinching a dominant win over Robert Whittaker, he was left feeling a bit remorseful after discovering that he had broken the former champion's jaw.
During the UFC 308 post-fight press conference, the undefeated fighter asserted that he had not deliberately aimed to injure his opponent during the contest:
"Yeah before coming here they showed it to me [picture of Whittaker's broken jaw] but I felt something was wrong with his chin when I pushed it. Feels bad for that, didn't mean to break somebody's chin but it's my work, to make somebody [feel] pain, make me happy, and my family... Yeah when I pushed it, I felt some clicks."
Ch Khamzat Chimaev's comments below:
According to sports surgeon Dr. David Abbasi, Whittaker has broken his mandible in two places and would require surgical fixation to treat the damage.