Unfortunately, former UFC Middleweight Champion Robert Whittaker won’t be making his return to the octagon at UFC 248.
The 29-year-old was looking to make a big comeback after losing the Middleweight title to Israel Adesanya at UFC 243; however, Whittaker has been forced to withdraw from his bout against Jared Cannonier.
Ariel Helwani of ESPN cites that Whittaker backing out of the fight is due to personal reasons, not injury, though those reasons are currently unknown.
Cannonier is expected to remain on the pay-per-view card, with officials currently searching for the middleweight’s replacement. There’s no word on who could end up fighting the Texas native. Cannonier enters UFC 248 on a three-fight winning streak, as the 35-year-old has bested David Branch, Anderson Silva and Jack Hermansson.
UFC 248 takes place on Saturday, March 7 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada with no main event announced at this time.