Robert Whittaker won’t be making his scheduled return at UFC 248. According to multiple reports, the former UFC middleweight champion pulled out of his fight against Jared Cannonier due “undisclosed personal reasons.”
ESPN’s Ariel Helwani first reported the news, which was later confirmed by MMA Fighting.
Robert Whittaker is out his March 7 UFC 248 fight against Jared Cannonier due to undisclosed personal reasons, sources say. UFC efforting to keep Cannonier on the card but no opponent locked in yet, I’m told.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) January 15, 2020
In a statement he released to ESPN, “The Reaper” sent out his apologies to friends, fans, and to his opponent.