While the exact injury is unclear, the photo shows Whittaker’s front bottom teeth dislodged awkwardly back toward his throat inside his mouth, filled with blood.
The damage sustained came during his first-round submission loss to Khamzat Chimaev (14-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) in Saturday’s co-main event at Eithad Arena on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi.
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Chimaev immediately dragged Whittaker to the ground and relentlessly smothered him, until he got a grip and squeezed. A face crank resulted in a quick tap from Whittaker, at 3:34 of Round 1.
Check out an image of the damage done (via Daniel Cormier/ESPN MMA broadcast) below:
Ilia Topuria backed up his talk on Saturday when he defeated Max Holloway for his first title defense in the UFC 308 main event.
Topuria (16-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) kept his undefeated record in tact with a third-round knockout victory over former champion Holloway (26-8 MMA, 22-8 UFC) in the pay-per-view headliner at Etihad Arena on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi.
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Check below for the top X (formerly Twitter) reactions to Topuria beating Holloway at UFC 308.
Ben Askren
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Henry Cejudo
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Be sure to visit the MMA Junkie Instagram page and YouTube channel to discuss this and more content with fans of mixed martial arts.
Ilia Topuria may have just locked up the Fighter of the Year.
On Saturday night in Abu Dhabi, Topuria became the first man to knock out Max Holloway, finishing him with punches in the third round of the UFC 308 main event. Following Saturday’s pay-per-view event, MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck and Jed Meshew react to Topuria’s astonishing performance and where this puts him not only in the Fighter of the Year conversation, but in the pound-for-pound mix.
On top of that, MMA Fighting discusses Khamzat Chimaev breaking Robert Whittaker’s jaw with a brutal submission and whether that allows him to leapfrog Sean Strickland for a middleweight title shot, Magomed Ankalaev’s workmanlike win over Aleksandar Rakic, the judging controversies that riddled the rest of the card, and much more.
Watch the UFC 308 post-fight show above, or an audio-only version of the show can also be streamed below and on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever else you get your pods.
Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin is not getting carried away following the 1-0 win over Dundee United that moved his side top of the Scottish Premiership.
Chimaev (14-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) quickly submitted Robert Whittaker (27-8 MMA, 17-6 UFC) with a face crank in the first round of their middleweight bout Saturday, which co-headlined UFC 308 at Etihad Arena.
Two weeks ago, UFC CEO Dana White said Du Plessis vs. Sean Strickland 2 is next. He refused to commit to his initial plans during the post-fight news conference, and Chimaev is ready to slide in for a title shot if the UFC grants him the opportunity.
“It doesn’t matter Sean or Dricus, just going for the gold,” Chimaev told reporters, including MMA Junkie at the UFC 308 post-fight news conference. “So we’ll see what happens next. I’m ready.”
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When asked about Du Plessis’ grappling, Chimaev quickly dismissed it.
“How I did with this guy, Rob, and how he done?” Chimaev said. “Rob took him down, so if Rob took him down, there is salam alaikum (against me).”
If not a title shot, Chimaev said he’d be down to fight former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya.
“For me, Adesanya would be a good money fight because he has a big name,” Chimaev said. “Sean Strickland, we’ve been in the gym. We have some stuff not done yet, so that would be good history as well.”
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 308.
Be sure to visit the MMA Junkie Instagram page and YouTube channel to discuss this and more content with fans of mixed martial arts.
Quinn Ewers threw for 288 yards and three touchdowns Saturday as No. 5 Texas beat No. 25 Vanderbilt 27-24 Saturday in its Southeastern Conference road debut.
The Longhorns (7-1, 3-1) bounced back from the loss to Georgia last week that ended their stay at No. 1. They also beat Vanderbilt in Nashville for the first time since 1925 as these new league teammates renewed a rivalry last played in 1928 in Dallas.
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Vanderbilt (5-3, 2-2) snapped a three-game winning streak in its first game ranked in the Top 25 since the 2012 Music City Bowl. This was the Commodores’ first regular-season game as a ranked team since Oct. 18, 2008, when they played three games as a Top 25 team.
They had a chance late as Diego Pavia threw for two touchdowns after Texas went up 24-10 in the third. Pavia’s second TD pass, an 8-yarder to Eli Stowers with 46 seconds left, pulled Vanderbilt within 27-24.
Texas easily recovered Vanderbilt’s onside kick attempt to seal the victory.
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The Longhorns opened slowly as a holding penalty on the opening kickoff was followed by a tipped Ewers’ pass that was picked off by Martel Hight. Vanderbilt needed only five plays before Pavia scrambled 18 yards for a touchdown and 7-0 lead.
Ewers completed his next 17 passes. He threw a 3-yard TD to Matthew Golden on the Longhorns’ next drive, and he connected with DeAndre Moore Jr. for a 27-yard TD late in the first quarter for a 14-7 lead Texas never lost.
The Texas quarterback found Moore again for a 25-yard catch-and-run up the left sideline for a 21-7 lead in the second. Ewers didn’t miss on a throw until the final minute of the first half.
Pavia threw for 143 yards and ran for 67 more and a score. After Miles Capers‘ interception, Pavia tried to rally Vanderbilt, finding Junior Sherrill on fourth-and-goal with a 3-yard TD pass late in the third.
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Texas linebacker Liona Lefau picked off Pavia’s pass on fourth-and-2 with 5:05 left to set up Bert Auburn’s second field goal with 3:11 left.
Poll implications
Texas might not win many style points for the Longhorns’ first league road win, but Vanderbilt came in having lost its first two games by a combined seven points. An argument can be made the Commodores deserve to stick around at the bottom of the AP Top 25 after going 3-1 in October.
The takeaways
Texas: The Longhorns gave up four sacks and played sloppy with 10 penalties for 108 yards. They overcame that by outgaining Vandy 392-269.
Vanderbilt: The Commodores showed that their win against Alabama on Oct. 5 wasn’t a fluke, only losing to a top-5 team by three points.
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Up next
Texas has an open date before hosting Florida on Saturday, Nov. 9, while Vanderbilt visits Auburn next.
ABU DHABI – Max Holloway lost by knockout for the first time in his career Saturday at UFC 308, but in no way did it change his typical way of handling defeats with grace.
Shortly after his third-round defeat to Ilia Topuria, Holloway (26-8 MMA, 22-8 UFC) took the podium backstage at Etihad Arena to field questions from reporters. As Holloway spoke, it seemed he’d already separated the emotion of the moment from his analysis.
“I felt great. I was finding my groove,” Holloway told MMA Junkie and other reporters. “You saw on the scoreboards after, I was kind of surprised. I thought I had at least one of them. In the first round, I know he took me down. Then at the ending he had that takedown. It is what it is. It felt good showing off my hands. I was landing. I was moving fast. I think I had him surprised in there. Like I said, I was doing well until I wasn’t. … Game of inches, man. Game of inches. He landed something that I found myself looking at him, up from the ground. It is what it is.”
Holloway said his weight cut was one of his best at featherweight, but a shift to lightweight might still be in order. The failed title bid Saturday was his fourth featherweight title fight loss in a row. Holloway is allured by the clearer paths to gold, fresher matchups, and lesser weight cut at 155 pounds.
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“We’re all going to sit down with the team, relax. There’s nothing needed to be rushing back to right now. But I can try coming back in the summer, the big July card, right, in Vegas? Do something. We’ll see what happens. I mean, 155 looks really good right now. … Like I said, I had the best 145 cut here. But what else is there to do? I had a couple times to reclaim it. New guys coming up. Yeah, that’d be fun. But I think 155 looks more fun, fighting more, the caliber, everyone there, and the names there, it looks really exciting to put my name in the mix.”
After all the questions had been asked, Holloway thanked media members in the room – and also took it upon himself to leave them with one last parting message.
“You guys are going to see me back,” Holloway said. “It’s not a funeral. I promise.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 308.
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Be sure to visit the MMA Junkie Instagram page and YouTube channel to discuss this and more content with fans of mixed martial arts.
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