Khamzat Chimaev insists UFC fans haven’t seen the last of him.
‘Borz’ was supposed to square off against former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker in a title eliminator at UFC Saudi Arabia on Saturday night.
Chimaev is one of the biggest stars on the UFC rosterCredit: Getty
However, Dana White announced his withdrawal from the fight last week.
The UFC boss claimed Chimaev was ‘violently ill’ before replacing him with Ikram Aliskerov, who boasts a 16-1 record and has two first-round wins since joining MMA’s premier promotion last year.
Aliskerov’s lone loss came courtesy of a Chimaev uppercut in 2019.
The undefeated contender’s mystery illness breathed life into rumours that he may retire, and now he’s issued a definitive statement about his fighting future.
“Will be back,” Chimaev captioned an Instagram picture of him in the gym.
It would be unusual for fans to assume someone is retiring after one illness or fight withdrawal. Of course, that’s not the case with Darren Till’s pal, who has been ravaged by health issues in recent years.
Chimaev was booked to face Leon Edwards in a welterweight bout in December 2020. Unfortunately, that fight failed to materialise due to COVID-19 complications affecting both fighters.
The illness impacted Chimaev more than most and he ended up suffering breathing difficulties and coughing up blood during training.
‘Borz’ continues to insist he’ll be fineCredit: @khamzat_chimaev – instagram
But his career has been hampered by health issues in recent yearsCredit: @guram_dze – instagram
Chimaev suddenly announced his retirement and blamed the virus.
Thankfully, he returned to MMA and established himself as a genuine UFC title contender in the welterweight and middleweight divisions.
In October, he picked up his biggest win yet over ex-champion Kamaru Usman, but it soon became clear that he was still dealing with a health issue.
A few months later, Chimaev worried fans by sharing several pictures of him looking extremely unwell, some of which were taken during his time in hospital.
The 30-year-old quickly deleted his post and issued a statement insisting he was fine, and all appeared to be going well ahead of his fight with Whittaker.
But his latest withdrawal is causing concern for his future in the sport. Even his boss is worried about Chimaev’s health issues.
Chimaev has been in and out of hospital all years with an unknown medical issueCredit: @KChimaev – X
White isn’t sure what’s going onCredit: Getty
“The problem is we really don’t know,” White told Jim Rome when asked how serious is Chimaev’s unknown illness.
“I saw video footage of him on the ground violently ill. He was hospitalised again. He hadn’t trained for five days so we couldn’t put him into a fight next weekend.
“Every time he gets close to fighting, he gets really sick. I don’t know.
“I don’t know what to say. It’s not like he’s over here in this country and we’ve had doctors here look at him or anything like that. He’s sort of out of touch so it’s tough to deal with.”
Whittkaer is just sad that Chimaev is going through a tough time.
“There’s no sour taste,” he told MMA Junkie.
“Honestly, I feel for him and I wish him a speedy recovery and I wish him all the best. At the end of the day, we’re in an entertainment sport.
“I understand we fight and we’re opponents and we see each other in that light, but outside of the octagon, outside those 15, 25 minutes, we’re just people and I wish him a speedy recovery to good health.”