Report: Robert Whittaker Donating Bone Marrow To Sick Daughter

Former UFC Middleweight Champion Robert Whittaker was scheduled to fight Jared Cannonier at UFC 248, but would then pull out of the bout due to personal reasons.

The fighter would issue a statement on the matter through Instagram:

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I'm sorry to all my friends, supporters and family for not being able to fight in March. A lot has happened over the 12 last months and I need to take some time now to be with my family, slow things down and to refocus. Sorry to everyone again but I'll be back. The best is yet to come.

A post shared by Robert Whittaker (@robwhittakermma) on Jan 16, 2020 at 5:45pm PST

UFC President Dana White would even comment on Whittaker’s situation, calling Whittaker selfless for pulling out of UFC 248.

“Let me put it to you this way,” White said to Submission Radio (via Tom Taylor of BJPenn.com). “That’s personal for Whittaker. If Whittaker wants to talk about that, he can, but I’ll tell you this, when you talk about somebody whose priorities are in the right place, who is completely selfless and down to the core a good human being, that’s Robert Whittaker.”

While no official reason has been given at this time for Whittaker pulling out of UFC 248, it has been reported by The Sun that Whittaker pulled out of the bout in order to donate bone marrow to his sick daughter. There is no word yet on what kind of illness that Whittaker’s daughter suffers from or how long the potential recovery will take.