Chimaev Continues Streak of Bad Luck With Illness
Khamzat Chimaev entered the UFC in July 2020 as a refreshing breath of fresh air. The young fighter demonstrated his willingness to fight often and usually finished with spectacular results. During his first two months in the promotion, Chimaev took and finished three fights.
However, since his win over Gerald Meerschaert in September 2020, Chimaev had his rise up the rankings slow by illness, various injuries, and a hard time finding opponents to agree to bouts. The latest saga in Chimaev’s UFC story is that he recently posted pictures of himself online showing that he was dealing with a major illness. It was thought his win over Kamaru Usman would set him up to fight Sean Strickland for the championship, but there has been disagreement about whether or not this is the case.
As it stands now, Chimaev is likely next in line for the middleweight bout after Sean Strickland and Dricus du Plessis settle their differences this month at UFC 297. When or if that fight occurs depends on whether Israel Adesanya decides to return or if the Strickland-du Plessis fight ends up being close.
Chimaev Posts Pictures From Hospital
Chiamaev set off a bit of a panic when he posted pictures to his X account, formerly Twitter, on Jan. 2. His face looked visibly puffy, and he also had a few pictures of himself laying in a hospital bed with a respirator on. While the post was later deleted, many people had already grabbed a screenshot of the photos.
Many people were aware that Chimaev needed hand surgery after his unanimous decision victory over Usman, but the images made it appear there was something worse wrong. Chimaev left a lengthy message to his fans.
“I was very sick; my hand was injured, so I couldn’t return right away,” Chimaev wrote on X. “I want to tell all the fans; I want to see myself in battle more than all of you; I love this job, I will do and prove that I am the best, as always we do, and I will be back soon to Insha’Allah training.”
COVID-19 Hits Chimaev Hard
Chimaev’s debut in the Octagon was so dynamic it was hard for fans to get enough. Three wins in 66 days made it appear that Chimaev, now 29, was on track to be a champion well before his 30th birthday. Chimaev was scheduled to fight current UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards at UFC Fight Night 183 in December 2020 during his first real test in the UFC.
However, Chimaev tested positive for COVID-19 and had to pull out of the fights. After Edwards also tested positive for COVID, the bout was rescheduled for January. Fate intervened again in the next month. Still feeling unwell from COVID and not having the proper training, Chimaev pulled out of the fight again.
Things got so dire for Chimaev that he announced he was retiring from the sport in Mach 2021 after suffering more complications with his lungs. UFC CEO Dana White quickly stepped in and said that Chimaev was emotional after a setback and wasn’t going to retire, according to MMA news sites.
Return and UFC 279 Disaster
When Chimaev finally got back to the Octagon in October 2021, the 13 months out of the Octagon didn’t impact him much. Chimaev was able to handle Li Jingliang and pick up a dominant first-round submission win. He would return six months later and pick up a decision win over former title challenger Gilbert Burns.
Chimaev had another health incident that forced a wild series of events at UFC 279. While suffering from a cramp, Chimaev was advised to stop cutting weight ahead of his fight with Nate Diaz. So Chimaev took the advice. What resulted was Chimaev’s missing the weight by 7.5 pounds.
The UFC was forced to make an unprecedented move. A night before the fight card, the UFC flip-flopped the opponents for several fights on the main card. Chimaev was originally set to fight Nate Diaz, according to MMA breaking news. But the weight miss was so significant that the bout had to be canceled.
Instead, the UFC would pair Diaz with Tony Ferguson. Chimaev was then paired with Kevin Holland in a 180-pound catchweight fight. The result ended up being a dominant one for Chimaev. He finished with a first-round submission win over Holland and didn’t seem to have his reputation splintered with the UFC executives.
Long Wait and Championship Aspirations
Originally, Chimaev was considered a contender for the welterweight title. However, Chimaev’s issues with making weight led the UFC to consider trying him out at middleweight. Fighting Usman in a title eliminator at UFC 294 was a move to put Chimaev on the fast track to winning a championship.
Chimaev was able to dominate the first two rounds against the former welterweight champion. The only issue Chimaev would end up having is that he injured his hand in the process. While Usman was able to turn up the heat in the third round, Chimaev did enough to earn the unanimous decision win.
What’s Next for Chimaev?
Despite the amount of news Chimaev has made over the past few years, he is still a relatively inexperienced fighter by MMA standards. Chimaev has compiled a 13-0 record and has picked up six knockouts and five wins by submission. It is clear that he should be in line for a chance to fight for the middleweight championship when healthy.
The question for Chimaev is, when will he be healthy? If the illness is serious, there may be concerns that Chimaev will have a similar feeling to the way he felt the after-effects of COVID. However, without any clarification on what is going on, all everyone can do is sit back and wait for Chimaev to announce when he is coming back to fight, according to MMAfighting latest news.
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