The best and worst from UFC 234: Adesanya vs. Silva

#1 Worst: Whittaker’s run of bad luck continues

Robert Whittaker's run of bad luck continued with a freak injury that sidelined him last night

Last February, Robert Whittaker was scheduled to make a defence of his UFC Middleweight crown in Australia against top contender Luke Rockhold. Instead, he was forced out of the fight due to a weird health issue (a bad staph infection) and missed out on the home country defence. The UFC tried to give him another chance at it pretty much exactly a year later, but somehow history ended up repeating itself.

This time Whittaker almost made it, even weighing in and looking healthy on Friday, but was forced out literally hours before the show due to a truly freak injury – an abdominal hernia that required immediate surgery. It was unbelievably bad luck for ‘The Reaper’, and quite hard to fathom to be honest. It’ll go down as perhaps the most unlucky injury in UFC history.

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Thankfully it sounds like Whittaker will be back within 4 weeks, but unless the UFC re-books his fight with Kelvin Gastelum quickly (maybe at UFC 236, which doesn’t have a main event right now and goes down on 04/13) the whole Middleweight division could end up tied up for some time, which would be a nightmare scenario. This was a horrible situation for the UFC and for Whittaker, and was easily the worst part about UFC 234.

About the author

Scott is a veteran MMA writer with over two decades of experience, including his ongoing tenure in Sportskeeda, which began seven years ago. He has written over 3000 pieces for the organization, while also covering football. Before joining Sportskeeda, Scott wrote articles for websites like The Oratory and Inside Pulse MMA.

Scott has a degree in history, which drives his research skills and helps him compile accurate information. His long stint in the field helps Scott provide a clear take on important topics, such as the criticism of promotions regarding fighter pay. While he feels fighters deserve a bigger revenue share, he doesn’t want MMA to suffer with purse-split issues.

Scott’s work has been previously reshared by the former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman. He uses credible sources, such as the UFC’s official website, during the writing process.

His dedication to MMA writing won him the Feature Writer of the Month award for Sportskeeda in November 2021.

Outside of work, Scott likes to go to the gym, walk his dog, and travel.

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Edited by Arvind Sriram