Robert Whittaker Reveals Underlying Issue Which Forced Him to Remove Teeth
Robert Whittaker is an all time great middleweight he is one of the most skilled middleweights ever with a resume to match. Whittaker at middleweight has only ever lost to the very top of the division. And last time out at UFC 308 Whittaker faced unbeaten contender Khamzat Chimaev. Whittaker put up a great effort however he was unable to withstand Chimaev’s early grappling onslaught. Ultimately he was submitted in the first round via a face crank which he tapped to quite quickly. Initially there was confusion but when the now famous picture of Whittaker’s teeth dropped there was no confusion. Subsequently, Whittaker has explained the situation with his teeth.
On the MMAArcade Podcast which Robert Whittaker co-hosts he revealed all. Whittaker said:
Robert Whittaker on Teeth Problem
“Well, I’ve always kind of had bad bottom teeth, because I’ve had missing teeth (at the top) for like 10 years plus. So they’ve always kind of been shot because they’re not stable, they’re not a full circuit, they’re like half.”. He then admitted, “Over the years, trauma or whatever, it’s something that kind of needed to be addressed but every dentist in their friend were saying, always try and keep your real teeth. I should of gotten rid of them years ago.” It’s the typical case of a fighter having an injury that needs addressing and not doing anything about it until it’s too late.
He then revealed, “During the Dricus (Du Plessis) fight, they kind of got pushed in a little bit… And I had to address that, they had to be pushed back.” So his teeth have been causing him issues in fights as recent as the Dricus Du Plessis fight. In fact his issues were so sever that, “I’ve never been able to bite down on an apple since I was 19. (My teeth) have always been bad, and I should’ve dealt with them much sooner.” It’s a miracle that Whittaker’s teeth weren’t causing more issues sooner.
Whittaker finished saying, “They’re gone (now), don’t need them, my life is much better without them. Fun fact though, when they took them out, they found a massive cyst in my jaw. And they think that might have been where infections were coming from for the teeth. So everything happens for a reason.” Hopefully now with the cyst removed and new teeth Whittaker can continue his great career and we shall see what his future holds.
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
