UFC 308 was a rough event for former UFC champions Robert Whittaker and Rafael dos Anjos.
Whittaker sustained an injury to his face during a first-round submission loss to Khamzat Chimaev in the co-main event, while dos Anjos sustained a knee injury during his first-round loss to Geoff Neal on the preliminary card.
Although Whittaker said in the cage immediately after the fight he thought his jaw dislocated during the rear-naked choke submission hold, he explained after the event it was actually an issue with his teeth that caused him to frantically tap out.
“Thank you everyone for all the love and support. It’s a tough gig sometimes but that’s the business,” Whittaker wrote in a statement on social media. “Big congratulations to Khamzat, he was the better man (Saturday) 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. I’m disappointed, but I come back better from every setback and every challenge so this is no different.”
The former middleweight champion expanded on the injury in an interview with Red Corner MMA.
“The teeth got pushed in,” Whittaker told the outlet. “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 the head or anything. It was on. It is what it is. I had them pushed in before when I fought Dricus (Du Plessis) as well and they’ve never really recovered. It was from an injury when I was young.”
Daniel Cormier briefly shared a graphic image of the inside of Whittaker’s mouth at the end of the UFC 308 broadcast that later made the rounds on social media.
The estimated recovery time for Whittaker’s injury is not currently known. The 33-year-old will require surgery to fix the damage.
Whittaker had not been submitted since his first pro loss back in 2011. He is 17-6 in the UFC since debuting in the organization after winning The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes in 2012. Whittaker’s only other losses at middleweight have been to current champion Dricus Du Plessis and former champion Israel Adesanya (twice).
As for dos Anjos, a former UFC lightweight champion, his 40th birthday did not go as planned.
The extent of the Brazilian’s injury isn’t yet known but dos Anjos said on an Instagram story that he “felt a big snap” behind his left knee when he threw a kick early in the fight, which ended up lasting only 90 seconds, indicating a long-term injury.
Dos Anjos added that he is “not done yet” and plans to fight again when he recovers. He has been in the UFC since 2008 where he has amassed a 21-15 record, including wins over Nate Diaz, Robbie Lawler, Anthony Pettis, Benson Henderson, Donald Cerrone and Renato Moicano, but is only 7-10 since losing the lightweight title in 2016.
