For Robert Whittaker, returning to Abu Dhabi isn’t just another fight week; it’s a reminder. The last time he was here, Khamzat Chimaev left him broken. Their UFC 308 clash ended with the former champion leaving the cage with shattered teeth and the first submission loss of his UFC career.
Now, at UFC on ABC 9, Whittaker is back to take on Reinier de Ridder. It marks the Octagon’s return to the same venue that hosted UFC 308, where Chimaev dominated and finished Whittaker in the first round with a brutal face crank. Healed and focused, the former champ has finally opened up about the painful road back.
Speaking to Ariel Helwani in a recent interview, he laughed about the eerie feeling of staying in the same hotel as that fateful night. But the memories? They’re still fresh, and the damage was all too real.
When asked by Helwani, “Any of those memories come back to you?”, ‘The Reaper’ responded with, “Oh, I’m pretty sure I’m staying in the exact same room as I did for that fight. I don’t know if it’s the same number, but it’s the same hotel. There are a lot of similarities, but honestly, with the amount of time that I’ve done this for, fight weeks kind of blur together.”
Then came the question about his teeth, and he confessed that there is no lingering damage, “No, no, perfect, mate. Kind of, yeah, better than before.” So, what did the recovery process look like?
Robert Whittaker shares it took a ‘couple’ of months for his teeth to recover after the Khamzat fight:
“I just got them taken out, the teeth. I got implants put in and it took them a little while to set and settle… Like I said, better than ever.” pic.twitter.com/7FlsHyo2SL
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) July 22, 2025
According to Whittaker, “Probably a couple months, a couple months. It took a while. So I just got them taken out, the teeth. So I got implants put in, and then it took them a little while to set and settle and, etc. So now that’s all done. I’ve had plenty of time. It’s yeah like I said better than ever.”
After all, Khamzat Chimaev’s submission wasn’t just another tap; it was an ambush. Seconds into the bout, the Chechen-Swedish star grounded Whittaker, controlled every position, and then cranked his jaw with terrifying precision. Daniel Cormier later revealed a photo of the aftermath, showing Whittaker’s jaw seemingly out of place and multiple teeth destroyed.
But Whittaker didn’t just lose a fight that night. He lost months of comfort, possibly even the ability to eat normally, while he recovered from the dental procedure, and the momentum he had after knocking out Ikram Aliskerov in June 2024, an opponent he faced only after Chimaev withdrew from their originally scheduled bout.
So, with his jaw fixed and implants in place, what’s his plan for his next challenger, the Dutch fighter who recently brought Bo Nickal’s hype train to a screeching halt?
Robert Whittaker lays out gameplan for Reinier de Ridder as he plans to make a statement after losing to ‘Borz’
Robert Whittaker knows what’s at stake when he steps into the cage against Reinier de Ridder. With the middleweight division heating up as the championship clash between Dricus du Plessis vs. Khamzat Chimaev is just weeks away, and contenders like Brendan Allen and Paulo Costa making noise, the pressure is now on the No. 5-ranked former champion.
In a recent conversation with MMA Junkie, Whittaker confessed, “I want to bounce back, After losing, I’ve always gotten better and come back with a win. It’s important for me to do that again to move toward the direction I want to go, which is that title.”
But it won’t be easy. The former two-division ONE champion has stormed into the UFC with three straight finishes, Gerald Meerschaert, Kevin Holland, and most recently, Nickal. And ‘The Reaper’ knows it as he stated, “He’s very good at taking the fight where you’re uncomfortable… Bo found that out the hard way.”
So, what’s the plan? Simple, according to the former champion, “I’m looking to be first and take the game where I’m strong. …I love being aggressive. I’m a striker by heart, so I want to try and get my mitts on him.”
The road back has been long and lined with pain, implants, and reflection, but ‘The Reaper’ is ready to remind the world why he was once king. Will he reclaim his momentum and carve a path back to the title? Or will de Ridder add another name to his growing list of scalps? Drop your predictions in the comments below!
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