Robert Whittaker had to abandon his upcoming fight at UFC 275 against Marvin Vettori for unknown reasons.
Vettori confirmed the news to MMA Fighting on Wednesday after the ex-UFC champion revealed he would not be able to compete on June 11. Whittaker later issued a statement confirming he would not be able to attend UFC 275.
“Sorry to say guys I won’t be able to compete in June due to an injury I sustained early in camp,” Whittaker wrote on Twitter. “I’ve done everything I can to make it right, but it’s not healing in time. It just means I’ll be back in the Octagon a few months later feeling better than ever.”
I am sorry to say that I will not be able to compete in June due to an injury sustained early in camp. I’ve done everything I can to make it right, but it’s not healing in time. All of this means that a few months later I’ll be back in the Octagon feeling better than ever pic.twitter.com/Q0PEtjxDfs
— Robert Whittaker (@robwhittakermma) April 21, 2022
It’s unfortunate news for Whittaker as he tries to recover from a loss to reigning middleweight champion Israel Adesanya in his last game.
As for Vettori, the former title challenger still wants to remain active and is hoping to face another high-level opponent sooner rather than later. In a message on Twitter, Vettori immediately targeted Darren Till and Khamzat Chimaev as potential opponents as Whittaker is unable to keep up.
In a separate message, Vettori said he would be willing to face Till in his hometown of Liverpool if the UFC wanted to book a fight in that location.
“It feels like I’m living in a state of déjà vu,” Vettori said. “Nobody wants to dance with me again. come on someone [Darren] To where are you? chamzat [Chimaev], where are you? Come on guys let’s go. I’ll take you both together. Let’s go.”
Alongside Till and Chimaev as possible opponents, Vettori is also open to a matchup against former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold, who is teasing his return to action after a nearly three-year absence from the sport. Rockhold recently requested a fight against Paulo Costa, who fell to Vettori last October.
Now Vettori is ready to welcome back Rockhold if that’s the fight the UFC wants to book.
It remains to be seen what will end up as the final decision after Vettori is unopposed at UFC 275. The June 11 card from Singapore will be marred by two title fights, with light heavyweight champion Glover Teixeira defending his belt against Jiri Prochazka while Rose Namajunas takes on Carla Esparza in a rematch with the strawweight title at stake.