Middleweight champion Robert Whittaker is out of the hospital.
The 185-pound champ was released from a Melbourne hospital three days after he was forced to undergo emergency surgery for a collapsed bowel and hernia the day of February 9’s UFC 234. The injuries forced him out of his scheduled title defense versus Kelvin Gastelum at the last minute.
According to ESPN, Whittaker’s manager Titus Day revealed Whittaker had been released. The oft-injured champ will not be allowed to fly back to his home of Sydney, Australia, until next Monday, however.
His manager Day confirmed that ‘The Reaper’ is indeed still in a large amount of pain. He will not be able to do much more than walk for the next four to six weeks because of the surgery. After that he will be able to resume light training if all goes well. The manager speculated on a return this summer:
“I’d say he’ll be able to fight next sometime between June and August depending on recovery,” Day said. “Hopefully closer to June.”
Rising No. 5-ranked contender Israel Adesanya recently said he believes Whittaker should be stripped of the gold belt. He believes he should fight Gastelum for the title next. For what it’s worth, UFC President Dana White has been noncommittal on what will happen next at middleweight.
Whittaker’s latest extended stay on the pine could force their hand soon.
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