In addition to being paired with a short-notice opponent, Robert Whittaker faced more adversity heading into his showdown with Ikram Aliskerov in the UFC on ABC 6 main event.
Whittaker’s manager, Titus Day, told Fox Sports Australia that the former middleweight champion underwent emergency root canal surgery just 24 hours prior to the bout.
“Rob has a really bad abscess that flared up a week before flying out,” Day said. “He had headaches, tooth pain — it was like he’d been kicked in the side of the head. He couldn’t train, couldn’t eat, couldn’t sleep.