Former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker has released a statement after he was forced to pullout of his slated UFC 248 bout with Jared Cannonier due to personal reasons.

The bout was supposed to mark Whittaker’s first since surrendering his middleweight title to Israel Adesanya at UFC 243 this past October.

‘The Reaper’ took to Instagram earlier this evening where he released the following statement to his fans regarding his withdrawal from UFC 248.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B7Zx5xvnpGI/?igshid=1phmimmnqcvc6

“I’m sorry to all my friends, supporters and family for not being able to fight in March. A lot has happened over the 13 last month’s and I need to take some time now to be with my family, slow things down and refocus.” Robert Whittaker explained. “Sorry to everyone again but I’ll be back. The best is yet to come.”

Prior to his title loss to ‘Stylebender’, Whittaker was riding a nine-fight win streak which included two victories over Yoel Romero.

As for Jared Cannonier, the streaking middleweight contender has not yet received a replacement opponent to fill in for Robert Whittaker.

There has been some talk of Darren Till potentially replacing ‘The Reaper’ against Cannonier, but nothing has been made official by the promotion as of this time.

What do you think of the statement released by former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker regarding his decision to withdraw from his slated UFC 248 bout with Jared Cannonier? Sound off in the comments section Penn Nation!

This article first appeared on bjpenndotcom January 16, 2020

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