The co-main event of UFC 308 this past weekend featured a statement performance from Khamzat Chimaev.
"Borz" produced his biggest win to date when he submitted Robert Whittaker in the first round but of course, there's two sides to every story.
Whilst Chimaev is riding high following his dominant display, his opponent now has to return home to his family, lick his wounds and go back to the drawing board.
Fortunately, it's hard to keep a fan favourite like Whittaker down for too long and "The Reaper" has already shared an encouraging message to his supporters.
"The Reaper" quickly tapped when Chimaev started to put pressure on a choke, later revealing the gruesome details of the jaw injury he suffered.
However, in his first Instagram post following Saturday night, Whittaker assured people that it's nothing to worry about, praising his opponent for getting the job done.
"Thank you everyone for all the love and support. It’s a tough gig sometimes but that’s the business. Big congratulations to Khamzat, he was the better man tonight and that’s all there is to it. I felt great, everything was on point and I was ready. My jaw is good, but my teeth were moved in. It’s a good excuse to fix them properly now haha. I’m disappointed, but I come back better from every setback and every challenge so this is no different. I want to thank my team and everyone who supported me to get here. Time to go spend time with the family for a bit. Be back soon"
One of the most notable replies to his post came from his former opponent and the current middleweight champion, Dricus Du Plessis:
"You’re an absolute warrior and someone to look up to brother. You’ll be back speedy recovery."
