The hardest rolling middleweight fighter in the world just received some bad news per a report from his home country of Australia.

Current UFC interim middleweight champion Robert Whittaker, a fighter who has been crushing elite-level talent on his current run, has suffered a partially torn medial collateral ligament that will require medical attention and recovery that will most likely keep him on the mend until next year. The injury occurred during the opening round of his fight with Yoel Romero at UFC 213 earlier this month, in a bout where Whittaker overcame serious adversity and pressure from the Cuban powerhouse en route to securing victory on the judges' scorecards.

It was an impressive win in the moment, but learning of the physical obstacles The Ultimate Fighter winner was forced to overcome in hindsight makes the feat all the more amazing.

Whittaker spoke to Australia's Daily Telegraph (h/t Kirik Jenness on transcription) about the injury and the road to recovery.

"Doc­tors al­ways think the end of the world, right?" Whittaker said. "If it was up to them I'd be in a wheel­chair. But I'm ex­tremely lucky to have a great sports doc in Andrew McDon­ald. The injury itself, it's not really my job to understand. All I can say is that it's a serious grade two medial … and hurt like hell when it happened."

"I suffered a strain during training [about a month before the fight] and thought it would be sweet. And it might've been had Romero not kicked it like he did. So as for when I'm back? My body will be the clock. I took a lot of little niggling injuries into that Romero fight. That's the problem with taking fights too close together. They were injuries that not only impede your training, but also put you in bloody pain."

With Whittaker holding claim to the interim title a fight with the man who holds the other divisional belt in Michael Bisping should be a no brainer. Yet, with "The Reaper" down with injury and Bisping drawing closer to returning from his own hiatus, there's certainly a chance the UFC could opt to take another swing at putting "The Count" inside the Octagon with returning pound-for-pound great Georges St-Pierre before the end of the year.

While a bout between GSP and Bisping would put a strange obstacle in Whittaker's path after earning the interim strap, the Australia native isn't concerned those matters in the slightest. The only thing Whittaker thinks about is his own path and he'll deal with whatever comes his way when it happens.

"I've never worried about what other fighters do and that's served me well in the past. I just need to get my body healed and, once that happens, I'll fight anyone in the world. I've never shied away from a fight. Ever. And the harder the fight is, the more you get me in -- it's like dangling bait in front of me. But I need to look after my body. I'm young enough to bounce back from a lot of things, but if I don't look after my body it won't look after me."

FloCombat's hottest content, delivered to your inbox

Don't miss breaking news, feature stories, event updates, and more. Sign up for the FloCombat mailing list today.