Aussie Rob Whittaker suffers suspected broken jaw in brutal loss to Russian phenom at UFC 308: ‘I felt something wrong’
- Rob Whittaker’s jaw was injured during a brutal UFC loss
- Whittaker was choked out by Khamzat Chimaev
Australia’s former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker has suffered a devastating first-round submission loss to undefeated Khamzat Chimaev – and a suspected broken jaw.
Whittaker’s prospects of securing another world title fell on Sunday morning (AEDT) in Abu Dhabi after tapping out at 3:34 in the opening round.
The 33-year-old Australian landed a few leg kicks but didn’t get a chance to land a punch as he was knocked down after just 15 seconds.
He scrambled hard along the cage in an attempt to escape the clutches of the UAE-based Russian fighter, but appeared to suffer an injury to his chin or jaw during the decisive choke.
“Some rumors say it could be a dislocated jaw for Robert Whittaker,” said commentator Jon Anik.
Ex-UFC champion Daniel Cormier said: “Robert points to his face. Holy cow. I think he sprained his jaw. That’s amazing that he did that with Rob Whittaker. Holy smokes.’
“He went down, checked him the whole time and then crushed his jaw to the point,” Anik said.
“I hope it doesn’t get disrupted, because that’s never fun to experience.”
Robert Whittaker suffered a devastating first-round submission loss to undefeated Khamzat Chimaev – and suffered an injury to his jaw
The Australian was quickly dismissed by the undefeated Russian phenomenon
Chimaev also indicated that something was wrong with the Australian’s jaw.
“I felt something was wrong, a click,” Chimaev said afterwards.
‘Thanks Rob. I love you, my brother – you are a legend, I respect that you took the fight to me because no one wants to fight me.”
After the fight, photos emerged on social media of Whittaker’s jaw, with some of his teeth out of place.
It was only the second time Whittaker was submitted and the first time in 13 years.
Renowned wrestler Chimaev, 30, started the fight as favorite despite being ranked 13th, 10 places below the Sydneysider.
They were originally scheduled to fight in June, but Chimaev pulled out after falling ill
He improved his record to 14-0.
It was only Whittaker’s fourth loss in his last nineteen fights over a ten-year period, but it casts doubt on whether he will ever get another chance.