Rob Whittaker is one of the most resilient fighters in the UFC.
Most recently, he had a hard-fought battle with Khamzat Chimaev but tapped out relatively quickly.
The true nature of his injury has now been revealed, with the former UFC middleweight champion suffering a gruesome jaw injury.
Whittaker's bottom teeth were pushed inward by Chimaev's face crank.
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This resulted in the Australian suffering excruciating pain, where he was left with no option but to tap out.
Coincidentally, Whittaker had spoken about an issue with his jaw just a few days before his UFC 308 fight.
He outlined how an injury he suffered when he was 19 led to metal plates being inserted in his jaw.
"Funny story. So, when I was 19, I broke my jaw and shattered all my teeth, and they had to put a metal plate there... If you have a metal plate anywhere, it bulges," Whittaker said at a media conference.
"So I kinda had a bulge on my jaw, and it looked funny, so I grew the goatee out to hide it and never shaved it off."
Robert Whittaker spoke about his jaw injury in an interview just days before his fight against Khamzat Chimaev
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) October 28, 2024
He says he broke his jaw and shattered his teeth when he was 19 years old 😬
🎥 @UFC_AUSNZ #UFC #MMA pic.twitter.com/EanptfwcZL