Robert Whittaker’s dental surgery, prompted by the injury from his last trip to the Octagon, uncovered a startling underlying issue.
Whittaker endured his first submission loss in the UFC. He suffered a crushing setback that also left him with severe dental damage — a brutal souvenir from Khamzat Chimaev’s relentless face crank in the opening round of UFC 308 last month.
In the aftermath of the fight, photos emerged showing “The Reaper’s” mouth in disarray, his bottom teeth visibly misaligned. This fueled speculation within the sporting community, with many believing his jaw had been fractured in multiple places.
Khamzat Chimaev broke Robert Whittaker's jaw in his submission win
#UFC308 pic.twitter.com/IHFnHBosYj
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) October 26, 2024
However, the Aussie clarified that wasn’t the case. Instead, the injury, which had developed cumulatively since his younger years, affected the lower bone supporting his teeth, causing it to snap and be displaced — steering clear of a full jaw fracture but resulting in considerable damage.
During a recent episode of his MMArcade Podcast, Whittaker opened up about the longstanding oral issues that have plagued him over the years. The former UFC middleweight champion revealed that his struggles with lower teeth problems resurfaced during his last few fights.
Although he managed to temporarily address them, the situation progressively worsened, ultimately reaching a breaking point after his latest outing.
“I’ve always kind of had bad bottom teeth because I’ve had missing teeth here for like 10 years plus,” Whittaker said. “So they’ve always kind of been shot because they’re not stable — they’re not a full circuit; they’re like half… But they kinda got pushed in a little bit when I fought Dricus [Du Plessis]. I had to cast them in there, let them settle, yada yada yada, move on. Then, when I fought Ikram [Aliskerov], I had all the infections. Had to get four root canals, and I think the teeth had just had it, mate.”
“The Reaper” went on to reveal that his dental problems eventually led to the removal of his entire bottom row of teeth. During the procedure, doctors found a large abscess in his gums, which could have worsened his condition if left untreated.
“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. 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.”
Before UFC 308, Whittaker was gaining momentum for a potential third title shot, having strung together two impressive wins over Ikram Aliskerov and Paulo Costa earlier this year. However, after his setback against Chimaev, those championship aspirations have been momentarily sidelined.