Khamzat Chimaev is dealing with another health scare not long after scoring the biggest win of his mixed martial arts career thus far.
In October, ‘Borz’ returned to the Octagon at UFC 294 for a showdown with short-notice replacement opponent Kamaru Usman in Abu Dhabi. Chimaev largely dominated the bout, walking away with a majority decision victory. Unfortunately, he also left with a hand injury, forcing him to take some time off to recover. However, a recent post from the undefeated Chechen monster revealed that he’s dealing with more than just a damaged mitt.
“I was very sick, my hand was injured, so I couldn’t return right away, I want to tell all the fountains, 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’Allal training,” Chimaev wrote in a since-deleted post on social media.”
Khamzat Chimaev posted and then deleted a picture of himself saying he was very sick pic.twitter.com/RDQnhmnOce
— MMA Mania (@mmamania) January 3, 2024
Chimaev later posted a much more encouraging video clip of himself saying that he would be “coming back soon for my belt.”
This is far from the first time that Chimaev has dealt with a serious health issue. After scoring three finishes in the span of eight weeks, ‘Borz’ was sidelined in late 2020 while fighting an especially difficult bout with COVID-19. Hospitalized and struggling to recover from the damage the virus had left, Chimaev considered walking away from the sport altogether.
Fortunately, he was able to make a full recovery and returned to the Octagon after more than a year on the shelf.
Fight Fans Show Their Concern For Khamzat Chimaev
Fans online were quick to show their concern over the Chechen’s latest health struggle, some even offering their own diagnosis of what he could be suffering from. Unfortunately, there were also a few who opted to make light of the situation with some ill-advised jokes.
Sheesh.
He just aged like 20 years.— MMA Nobody (@mmanobodybro) January 3, 2024
Looks like some kind of severe allergic reaction. Hopefully he gets better 🙏
— Weasle (@ThaWeasle) January 3, 2024
Looks like he got the same face swelling virus as Paddy
— Oklahoma Jack (@oklahoma_jack) January 3, 2024