The Sun has reported the news to be a rumor. The news spread as the reason for Whittaker’s decision to drop out of the fight against Jared Cannonier.
Former UFC middleweight champion, Robert Whittaker was scheduled to take on Jared Cannonier at UFC 248. However, he pulled out of the fight a few days ago in a shocking fashion. The reason for Whittaker pulling out of the fight was not disclosed until now.
It turns out Robert Whittaker will be donating his bone marrow to his daughter Lilliana (According to the SUN) who was born in February 2018.
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Can Robert Whittaker Do Anything Wrong?
UFC president, Dana White decided not to reveal the reason for Whittaker not fighting but he described Whittaker’s decision as “unselfish: and “selfless”. White said:
“That’s personal for Whittaker. If Whittaker wants to talk about that, he can.
But I’ll tell you this, when you talk about somebody whose priorities are in the right place, who is completely selfless and down to the core a good human being, that’s Robert Whittaker.
The reason Robert Whittaker is not fighting in this fight is one of the most unselfish things I’ve seen in my life.”
Rumors are Robert Whittaker pulled out of his UFC 248 fight because he is donating a bone marrow to his sick daughter.
Whittaker is an inspiration. (via submissionradio) pic.twitter.com/nkOJnvx7ZF
— UFC Related 👊🏼 (@UFCrelated) January 21, 2020
Whittaker lost his middleweight title to Israel Adesanya in one of the biggest fights in UFC history. Injuries had taken a toll on Whittaker’s career as he was away from the sport for a meaningful period before the clash with Adesanya.
Even though Whittaker lost the fight to Adesanya he claimed to feel better than ever before in the Octagon. And fans expected that he would come back stronger against Jared Cannonier and start his journey to reclaim the title. However, Whittaker faces one more adversities in the shape of an unfortunate tragedy.
Whittaker issued a statement few days ago after pulling out of UFC 248 and promised to come back stronger. Whittaker stated:
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“Apologies to all my friends and supporters but unfortunately I won’t be competing on the UFC 248 fight card.
There are a few other things going on in my life that I need to give priority to and sort out, so I have had to change my plans.
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But I’ll be back soon, bigger and better than ever.”
Here’s Essentially Sports hoping for a godspeed recovery of Whittaker’s daughter.