Robert Whittaker Out Of The Hospital, Targets Summer UFC Return

UFC middleweight title holder Robert Whittaker is out of the hospital three days after undergoing emergency surgery.

Whittaker was scheduled to defend his UFC middleweight championship against Kelvin Gastelum in the main event of UFC 234. Those plans were derailed when Whittaker suffered a hernia in his abdomen. It is said that this wasn’t the result of weight cutting. “The Reaper” had to undergo emergency surgery.

ESPN received word from Whittaker’s manager Titus Day that the 185-pound champion is out of the hospital. Whittaker has been told by doctors not to travel back to his hometown of Sydney for a few days due to potential complications from the flight. Day had the following to say on Whittaker’s time frame for a return to the Octagon:

“I’d say he’ll be able to fight next sometime between June and August depending on recovery. Hopefully closer to June.”

Whittaker has yet to have a UFC middleweight title defense, although the blame doesn’t entirely rest on his shoulders. Whittaker defeated Yoel Romero in a rematch back in June 2018. The win didn’t count as a successful title defense as Romero missed weight.

The UFC middleweight division is in an interesting spot as Gastelum is due a title opportunity, but Israel Adesanya earned a number one contender spot as well with his win over Anderson Silva. Adesanya has made it clear that he’ll wait for his shot at gold.