Robert Whittaker has been forced to drop out of his upcoming fight at UFC 275 against Marvin Vettori for undisclosed reasons.
Vettori confirmed the news to MMA Fighting on Wednesday after the ex-champion notified the UFC that he would be unable to compete on June 11. Whittaker later issued a statement confirming he will be unable to compete at UFC 275.
” Sorry to say that guys, an injury I sustained early in camp means I won’t be able to compete this June,” Whittaker posted on Twitter. It took me a lot of time to fix it, but I’m not sure it will heal in the right amount of time. All this means is that I’ll be back in the octagon a couple months later and I’ll be better than ever.”
Sorry to say guys due to an injury I took early in the camp I’m not able to compete in June. I did everything I could to get it right but its not healing in time. All this means is that I’ll be back in the octagon a couple months later and I’ll be better than ever pic.twitter.com/Q0PEtjxDfs
— Robert Whittaker (@robwhittakermma) April 21, 2022
It’s unfortunate news for Whittaker as he looked to bounce back from a loss to reigning middleweight champion Israel Adesanya in his last outing.
As for Vettori, the one-time title challenger still wants to stay active with hopes that he’ll get to compete sooner rather than later against another top ranked opponent. Vettori instantly sent a tweet naming Darren Till as well as Khamzat Chimiaev his potential opponents now that Whittaker cannot compete.
Vettori also stated that Till would face him in Liverpool, if UFC wants to schedule a fight there.
“It’s like I live in deja vu,” Vettori stated. “Nobody wants to dance with me again. Come on somebody. [Darren] Till where you at? Khamzat [Chimaev], where you at? Get ready smash boys! Let’s go together. Let’s go.”
We’re back at it.
I think I’m the only 185er that can say that has never pulled out of a fight but anyway smash boys I’ll get you back to back lets do it I’m willing to die just show up @KChimaev @darrentill2 @Mickmaynard2 @AliAbdelaziz00 @danawhite— Marvin Vettori (@MarvinVettori) April 20, 2022
In addition to Till and Chimaev as possible opponents, Vettori is also open to a matchup against ex-UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold, who has been teasing his return to action following a nearly three-year long absence from the sport. Rockhold has recently requested a fight against Paulo Costa who lost to Vettori in October.
Now Vettori would be happy to accept Rockhold back, if it’s the UFC fight they want to schedule.
It remains to be seen what will end up as the ultimate decision now that Vettori is without an opponent at UFC 275. The card on June 11 from Singapore will be headlined by a pair of title fights as light heavyweight champion Glover Teixeira defends his belt against Jiri Prochazka while Rose Namajunas takes on Carla Esparza in a rematch with the strawweight title on the line.
