Khamzat Chimaev was hospitalized with an illness ahead of his scheduled bout against Robert Whittaker in June, which has not been rescheduled to UFC 308 at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi on October 26. ‘Borz’ opens up about his prior sickness.
Khamzat Chimaev Illness
Sporting an unblemished career record of 13-0, Khamzat Chimaev was one of the hottest prospects in the sport as he quickly racked up TKO wins in the UFC. With weight misses and cancellations due to injuries or illness, fans are now beginning to ask more questions about his future.
Since making his UFC debut in 2020, he has had seven bouts completed but has had thirteen fights scheduled in that time. He has been forced to withdraw from six fights in the promotion for various reasons. The most recent, in June, was an illness where he was hospitalized.
Ahead of his June matchup against he former champion Robert Whittaker, Khamzat Chimaev pulled out and the fight was booked for later in the year. Leading up to UFC 308 this weekend, ‘Borz’ explained what happened in an episode of UFC Countdown. He said:
“We were in training camp. The first month was very good. The last three weeks, my immunity goes down. I don’t know what happened. All the guys ate the same food, (but) only (I) got sick. I was in the hospital for a couple of days. I came out and started to train again and the same sh*t happened again. The doctor said to me, ‘You need to just be off from the gym and not just training, not doing nothing.’ I went home to the mountains.” [Ht MMA Junkie]
Khamzat Chimaev started his career in the UFC in the welterweight but has since moved up to middleweight. At UFC 308, ‘Borz‘ will face his biggest test as he meets the former division world champion ‘The Reaper’ Whittaker. This fight has title implications and goes down on October 26.