Khamzat Chimaev Boxes With The National Team
Khamzat Chimaev is taking extra steps by boxing with a national team to prepare for his UFC return.
Chimaev was on course to fight Robert Whitaker at UFC Saudi Arabia. However, the UFC fighter had to pull out due to food poisoning. He was taken to hospital as Whitaker took on Ikram Aliskerov. Dana White referred to the illness as very serious. Meanwhile, Chimaev’s history has shown that he struggles to maintain his health. He took a lot of time out due to COVID-19, with his manager recalling that the fighter felt like he almost died.
Chimaev’s Illness
“The problem is we really don’t know (what’s wrong). Every time this guy gets close to a fight, I saw video footage of him on the ground violently ill. He was hospitalized again. He hadn’t trained for three or four days or five days, I don’t know exactly what the number was but we could not put him into a fight next weekend. I saw this kid on Fight Island, he wanted to fight the next weekend. I let him fight the next weekend.
“He looked incredible. He’s been on this tear and lately, it’s been hard to get him into the Octagon. Every time he gets close to fighting, he gets really sick. I don’t know (how long he’s going to be out). 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,” White said
Whitaker would knock out Aliskerov in the first round in a major statement. That left Chimaev without a fight since he defeated Kamaru Usman at UFC 294. While he remains undefeated in the UFC with a 7-0 record, he is looking to secure the biggest fights. Chimaev aims to return at UFC 308 in Abu Dhabi on October 26. In order to do that, Chimaev has been pulling out all the stops to keep himself in the best shape.
Chimaev’s Preparation
“It was unfortunate but again, we have to keep positive thoughts, positive mentality. He’s feeling better now. He’s been for a few weeks in Caucasian Mountains, breathing fresh air, mountain air and training there with his team. With his brothers and team and I think boxing national team too so hopefully, as he said himself, we gonna see him in Abu Dhabi in October and I’m sure 100% that he will be ready and as always, energized,” Chimaev said
Chimaev also recalled a sparring session with Sean Strickland. The former middleweight champion has developed a reputation for sparring people. However, he has been criticized for beating up influencers. Jake Paul referred to him as a bully for taking on influencer Sneako. Meanwhile, Strickland also shared the ring with influencer Adin Ross. While David Goggins has called out Strickland for a street fight, it never happened. Now, Chimaev recalled facing Strickland and how he got the better of him.
“He [Sean Strickland] said he beat me in sparring. But, there were a lot of guys around who saw me choking him and beating him up. It was even recorded on camera. So, we also have some unfinished business. It would be good to see who’s better inside the octagon,” Chimaev added
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