Robert Whittaker's UFC 221 withdrawal turned out to be a blessing in disguise

Robert Whittaker was understandably devastated when he had to withdraw from his first scheduled title defense on home soil at UFC 221. Now that fight week is here, though, not competing has proven to be a positive.

Whittaker (19-4 MMA, 10-2 UFC) had a milestone occur today when he announced the birth of his daughter. His wife, Sofia Maree Whittaker, was induced into labor, something the UFC middleweight champion would have missed if his planned fight with Luke Rockhold had fallen through (via Instagram):

God always has a plan, I was gutted I couldn't defend my belt at UFC Perth but I've just been blessed with a little girl that stole my heart. My wife did so well and I couldn't be a prouder husband or dad. @sofiamareewhittaker @ufc

A post shared by Robert Whittaker (@robwhittakermma) on Feb 7, 2018 at 1:19pm PST

God always has a plan, I was gutted I couldn’t defend my belt at UFC Perth but I’ve just been blessed with a little girl that stole my heart. My wife did so well and I couldn’t be a prouder husband or dad.

After Whittaker pulled out of UFC 221, which takes place Saturday at Perth Arena in Perth, Western Australia, the UFC inserted Yoel Romero into the main event for an interim 185-pound showdown with Rockhold.

Details on Whittaker’s condition were originally scarce, but “The Reaper” recently revealed an injured hamstring, staph infection and chicken pox were the cause. Perhaps it was all meant to be, though, because not fighting at UFC 221 allowed Whitaker to be present for his family at a crucial time.

For complete coverage of UFC 221, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

The Blue Corner is MMAjunkie‘s official blog and is edited by Mike Bohn.