Daniel Cormier has justified his decision to show the world the picture of Robert Whittaker’s injured jaw after the fight against Khamzat Chimaev. The former champion’s teeth were pushed back courtesy of a face crank by the Russian, which made Whittaker tap out immediately.
The picture, graphic as it was, portrayed Whittaker right when he was at his most vulnerable point. He was enduring the physical pain of having his teeth re-arranged mid-fight, and the mental trauma of losing the fight the way he did. Naturally, he was unhappy that Cormier shared the photograph and it went viral on social media.
Omg! DC’s Pic of Whittaker’s teeth. #UFC308 pic.twitter.com/1cyp55Ji6c
— MMA Judge Analyzer (@Judgeanalyzer) October 26, 2024
Cormier apologized to Whittaker for leaking the picture while talking on the Good Guy/Bad Guy show with Chael Sonnen. However, he also presented a valid reason why he did it in the first place.
“I do apologize, maybe I shouldn’t have sent it Chael….But what I will say is this, it made people understand why he tapped as quickly as he did,” said Cormier.
Cormier’s justification is pretty valid. Immediately after Whittaker tapped out, there was a huge hue and cry about why the former champ gave up so easily. The photograph revealed the true picture. It showed that Chimaev’s hand was directly pressing against his jaw, pushing his teeth back instantly.
Face crank submissions are pretty common in the UFC. However, none had been so damaging as this one. It seems there could have been a reason for this nasty injury.
Whittaker reveals his “Achilles heel”
Whittaker’s teeth have been very sensitive since he was a child. It stems from an injury he suffered back then.
In an interview with Red Corner MMA on YouTube, he spoke about a previous instance when he got into trouble because of his sensitive teeth.
“My bottom teeth, they’re vulnerable. It’s my Achilles heel. I’ve had them pushed in before when I fought Dricus [Du Plessis], and they’ve never really recovered…It’s from an injury when I was young.”
Whittaker also clarified that it wasn’t his jaw that had the problem, contrary to popular belief. However as painful as the whole incident was, it led to the diagnosis of another issue. The doctors uncovered a cyst in his mouth and treated it as well.
