At UFC 308, Khamzat Chimaev secured a swift victory over former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker.
The match began with Whittaker attempting a low kick, but Chimaev quickly countered with a charged takedown, pinning his opponent against the fence. What followed was a masterclass in grappling, as Chimaev relentlessly pursued Whittaker’s back, maintaining constant pressure.
Despite Whittaker’s valiant efforts to defend, Chimaev’s relentless assault proved too much. The end came at 3:34 of the first round when Chimaev applied a face crank submission, forcing Whittaker to tap out quickly.
However, the aftermath of the bout revealed a more serious consequence for Whittaker. Dr. David Abbasi, an orthopedic surgeon, provided insight into the severity of Whittaker’s injury. Analyzing images of the injury, Dr. Abbasi noted significant damage to Whittaker’s lower teeth and mandible.
“You can see those teeth are basically floating back there,” Dr. Abbasi explained. He went on to describe the likelihood of multiple fracture lines in the mandible, causing a section of the jawbone to become unstable.
The injury, as Dr. Abbasi detailed, is not a simple one. “This is an unstable mandible fracture which will require fixation with plates and screws,” he stated. The procedure involves making an incision near the lip, realigning the bones, and securing them with surgical hardware.
This victory marks a significant milestone in Chimaev’s career, potentially propelling him towards a title shot. In his octagon interview, Chimaev expressed gratitude towards Whittaker for accepting the bout, while also claiming that “all the champions are running from me.”
Chimaev is still getting BJJ coaching from Alan Finfou despite parting from Sweden’s Allstars gym in favor of old school wrestling camp in Russia.
“How I did with this guy, Rob, and how he done?” Chimaev said. “Rob took him down, so if Rob took him down, there is salam alaikum (against me).”
Chimaev said he’d be down to face Israel Adesanya as well if UFC opts to give Strickland a title shot against Du Plessis.
“For me, Adesanya would be a good money fight because he has a big name,” Chimaev said. “Sean Strickland, we’ve been in the gym. We have some stuff not done yet, so that would be good history as well.”
He also reacted to the image of the injury he caused saying: “I didn’t mean to break somebody’s chin, but this is my work you know. Make somebody pain.”
People ask why Whittaker tapped so fast against Chimaev🤨
I was confused aswell🧐
but Khamzat disloacted Whittakers jaw and broke almost all of his teeth💀
fighters possess a strength that goes far beyond what one perceives as a spectator pic.twitter.com/C79dpFPluw
— CARLO (@0xdoncarlo) October 26, 2024
