Robert Whittaker underwent "emergency surgery" 24 hours before he left Australia to headline UFC Saudi Arabia, says manager

Robert Whittaker was hitting every mark in the UFC Saudi Arabia main event pairing against Ikram Aliskerov. Unbeknownst to many, the Australian was suffering from a painful condition and had to undergo surgery just 24 hours before he flew to Riyadh.

According to a report by Fox Sports Australia, Whittaker suffered from a case of "severe mouth abscess," a pocket of pus in a tooth caused by an infection. His agent Titus Day revealed:

“He had headaches, tooth pain, it was like he’d been kicked in the side of the head. He couldn’t train, couldn’t eat, couldn’t sleep. It was f—ing painful. The whole side of his head was in pain so we had to rush him in for emergency surgery." [h/t: Spinnin Backfist]

Check out the comments below:

None of that pre-fight medical concern translated into the performance as Whittaker showcased a resurgence of his dominant self against Aliskerov. 'The Reaper' hurt his foe early with an overhand right and swarmed with pressure, allowing no time for Aliskerov to recover. Eventually, he caught the Dagestani with a stiff uppercut that closed out the show at the 1:49 mark of the first round.

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Robert Whittaker set sights on a rematch against Dricus du Plessis

Robert Whittaker seeks to redress the errors that led to the TKO loss against Dricus du Plessis at UFC 290.

The South African became the frontrunner for the middleweight title shot following the victory over Whittaker and delivered on the opportunity at UFC 297 against Sean Strickland. 'The Reaper' wants a shot at the 185-pound champion, claiming that a second fight against 'Stillknocks' would go differently than the first. Speaking at the UFC Saudi Arabia post-fight press conference, he stated:

“Look at the paperwork. Since that fight, I’ve only improved. I’ve only gotten better. I’m not saying that if I was on, I would’ve beaten him. I’m not going to take that away from him. He turned up on the night and beat me fair and square and now he’s the world champion because of it. He’s a good fighter."

He added:

"He’s good at what he does. But I know I can do better. Will I beat him? Maybe he gets his hand raised again, but I know I can do better and I know I didn’t put my best foot forward in that fight and I want to run it back because of that.”

Catch Whittaker's comments below (42:00):