Fight fans have long associated Khamzat Chimaev’s career with sheer dominance and unprecedented octagon activity. After making his UFC debut, ‘Borz’ set a record for the quickest turnaround between UFC wins in the modern era, accomplishing the feat within just 10 days. However, despite Chimaev’s desire to stay active and his commitment to “smash everybody,” he hasn’t been as consistently active as he initially was. This pause in activity was mainly due to the cancellation of two fights with current UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards, which was caused by the lingering effects of COVID-19 on both fighters.
The 29-year-old briefly announced his retirement, feeling discouraged by how his body reacted to the virus. Chimaev later revealed that the decision was prompted by emotional distress. He was last seen inside the octagon against Kamaru Usman at UFC 294, a fight he won by majority decision. Fans have been wondering when Chimaev would return to action since he is the betting favorite to hold UFC gold by the end of 2024.
Chimaev recently took to social media to unveil graphic images of his health struggles. Although he did not go into details, he explained that he had been recovering from a hand injury and apparent skin infections. In the deleted post, he wrote, “I was very sick, my hand was injured, so I couldn’t return right away… I will do and prove that I am the best, as always we do, and I will be back soon to Insha’Allal training.”
While Khamzat Chimaev is considered one of the most dominant talents to emerge in recent times in the UFC landscape, many have noticed that the initial dominance displayed in his early UFC fights has seemingly diminished. This may be partly attributed to the high caliber opponents he has faced in recent fights. Chimaev showcased promising characteristics in his previous fights against Gilbert Burns and Kamaru Usman, but his performance seemed to lack the usual tenacity fans have come to associate with the Russian-born Swede.
In a recent episode of the Weighing In podcast, former UFC lightweight contender Josh Thomson weighed in on Chimaev, stating, “I’m not sold on him yet. I’m not sold on Khamzat Chimaev… Fighters come, fighters go. They explode onto the scene and guess what? Then they linger around for a little bit hoping to get back on track, and some of them never do, and some have a resurgence.”
