Rob Whittaker has revealed a pre-existing injury contributed to his lightning fast tap against Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 308 in Abu Dhabi.
The former middleweight champion lost by first-round submission following a face crank, although fans were surprised to see the experienced Whittaker tap so quickly.
That surprise turned to understanding when an image of Whittaker's mouth was shared shortly after the bout, showing the Australian's bottom teeth seemingly dislodged from the rest of his jaw.
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Now, one day removed from the event, Whittaker has revealed that he has had a vulnerability in that part of his face for some time.
“It wasn’t the jaw, it was the teeth. The teeth got pushed in, I’ve always had kind of like loose teeth and they got looser,” Whittaker told Red Corner MMA.
“It was the face crank, his forearm just went straight on the bottom tooth.
“I didn’t have a moment to turn the head or anything, it was just on, it was on. It is what it is.
“If I didn’t have such vulnerable teeth, maybe I would have had another second to turn my head. Or maybe not.
“I just got caught in a bad position and the rest is history.
“My bottom teeth, they’re vulnerable. It’s my Achilles heel.
“I’ve 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.”
The bout between the two middleweight contenders was effectively a title eliminator, with Chimaev now in position to challenge for the 185-pound strap for the first time.
It remains to be seen whether he'll face du Plessis next or await the winner of a potential fight between the current champion and Sean Strickland.
Despite the loss, Whittaker, 33, remained upbeat and fans of the Sydneysider will be relieved to see him in relatively good health.
“I came to fight and he was the better man on the day,” he said.
“I felt great, everything was on point and it just wasn’t my night.
“It's not always glamourous in this job but I get to go home.
“Congratulations to Chimaev, tough guy, he's got a lot of respect for me so I have a lot of respect for him.
“On to better things and I'm going to better from this.”
In a post on social media, Whittaker suggested he'd now look to have the issue with his teeth repaired.
“It’s a good excuse to fix them properly now haha,” he wrote.
