Robert Whittaker won't defend middleweight title until 2019

R. Whittaker (photo) began his history in the organization in the TUF edition that brought together Australian and British fighters in 2012. Photo: Reproduction/Facebook UFC

During the first round of the UFC 225 main fight, middleweight champion, Robert whittaker broke his hand while facing Yoel romero. With a sequence of two fights against 'Soldier of God', the belt holder was eager to face another opponent. According to information from journalist Ariel Helwani, due to an injury in early June, the Australian fighter will be out of the octagon until February next year.

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“I definitely won’t be ready until next year. My hand rehabilitation – both – has to be 100% before I can start (working in a camp). The healing process has to be done before I can start a rehabilitation program, so I need to strengthen my hand to 100%. Realistically, I’m looking at February of next year,” said the middleweight champion.

Whittaker underwent surgery on his right hand last month. The champion explained the details of the procedure: “They put a plate and some screws (inside). People don't know this, but I also had ligament damage on my left hand, but obviously attention was drawn to the broken part,” he explained.

Even though I can't fight, Robert whittaker has a commitment to the UFC. The champion is one of the coaches of the next edition of the reality show The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) with Kelvin Gastelum. At the end of the program, the coaches were supposed to face each other, but with Whittaker's recovery, the confrontation is undecided.

The middleweight champion began his history in the organization in the TUF edition that brought together Australian and British fighters in 2012. He won the tournament in the welterweight division.

“This is a perfect time to do it because my training is kind of slow at the moment due to my injuries, so why not? I was honored to have the opportunity in the first place. Being able to train where I started is definitely a funny feeling, a bit of symbolism to end the TUF series, where I kind of dropped everything,” he concluded.