It is official, former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker has pulled out of his scheduled bout against Marvin Vettori on UFC 275 in June. He confirmed in a tweet earlier that an injury during the camp is the reason behind his decision.
Marvin Vettori broke the news yesterday in a tweet that Robert Whittaker will not make it to the Octagon in June. However, there was no official source that confirmed it. But today, the man himself put an end to all the speculation. He wrote,
Sorry to say guys due to an injury I took early in the camp I’m not able to compete in June. I did everything I could to get it right but its not healing in time. All this means is that I’ll be back in the octagon a couple months later and I’ll be better than ever ???????? pic.twitter.com/Q0PEtjxDfs
— Robert Whittaker (@robwhittakermma) April 21, 2022
Vettori stated earlier that he does not want to wait around and called out both Khamzat Chimaev and Darren Till. But Whittaker’s tweet confirms that the injury may not be too severe as he expects to return in a matter of months.
So the question becomes, will the UFC wait a bit longer to re-book the fight? Or will someone like Darren Till get the fight instead? There is no word regarding what is next for Marvin at the moment.
Can Robert Whittaker regain the middleweight championship?
Robert Whittaker just fought the divisional champion Israel Adesanya at UFC 271. Adesanya once again defeated the Aussie via unanimous decision in February. But The Reaper disagreed with the verdict as he thought his performance was enough to edge out Adesanya. A lot of fans and pundits also agreed with the notion.
But it was a loss on his record and currently, Bobby Knuckles is 0-2 against the champ. Hence, him getting another title shot right away is more than unlikely. Hence the fight against Marvin Vettori was crucial to him in order to get one step closer to a trilogy against Israel. But the injury has delayed his progression.
Rob still holds the no. 1 spot in the middleweight rankings. Hence, whenever he comes back, Whittaker will still face a top 5 opponent. He is widely regarded as the best fighter in the division other than the champ. Hence a trilogy is inevitable if the ‘Stylebender’ sticks around in the division.
Is Bobby Knuckles hinting at a return to welterweight?
— UFC on BT Sport (@btsportufc) March 9, 2022
How would he get on at 170lbs? pic.twitter.com/xSGygkKeql
Whittaker also teased a move down to welterweight for a super fight. What do you think Robert Whittaker will do once he comes back from the injury? Let us know in the comments below.