UFC Middleweight Champion Robert Whittaker was forced to withdraw from UFC 234 after an abdominal injury forced him to get emergency surgery.
Dana White says that if Whittaker had somehow fought at UFC 234, it could’ve been fatal for the fighter.
“This was one of those freak accidents where the doctor said he’d literally never seen this type of injury in a young person – this usually happens to old people,” White said during the UFC 234 preliminary card broadcast (via MMA Junkie). “They think he’s had this problem and it’s been going in and out, and it’s one of those situations had it popped out during the fight, it could have been fatal for him. We don’t know exactly what happened with the doctor. Hopefully they popped it back in and sewed it up, and if that’s the case, it’ll be four weeks. But this was a freak, freak injury.”
The UFC President said that Whittaker may need about four weeks to completely recover from the surgery, but a timetable for the champions return has yet to be established.
Whittaker was expected to defend the middleweight title for the first title since UFC 225, where he defeated Yoel Romero by decision.
