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UFC star Khamzat Chimaev sends fans into panic amid battle with bizarre illness: ‘I was very sick’

Khamzat Chimaev worries fans with latest illness battle UFC Unbeaten middleweight contender, Khamzat Chimaev has sent hoardes of his fans into worry and panic across social media overnight,…

Unbeaten middleweight contender, Khamzat Chimaev has sent hoardes of his fans into worry and panic across social media overnight, posting before then deleting a series of images of him in hospital, as he battled with an unknown illness after his return to the Octagon at UFC 294 back in October.

Chimaev, the current number nine ranked middleweight contender, made his most recent Octagon walk back in October in the co-main event of UFC 294, turning in a close, majority decision win over former welterweight champion and pound-for-pound leader, Kamaru Usman in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

Khamzat Chimaev shares details of battle with illness

Undergoing a surgical procedure on his hand to address a ligament injury suffered in the opening round of his win over Usman, Chechen-born contender, Chimaev sent his fans and pundits into panic across social media, briefly disclosing a battle with illness whilst dealing with his hand injury, before swiftly deleting the post.

“I was very sick, my hand was injured, so I couldn’t return right away,” Khamzat Chimaev said on his official X account through translation. “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.” (H/T MMA Fighting)

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

Linked with a return to the Octagon as part of a blockbuster UFC 300 card in April of this year, Chimaev missed out on a title fight with Sean Strickland through injury – with the incumbent champion now set to headline UFC 297 later this month against unbeaten South African contender, Dricus du Plessis.

In terms of opponent for a potential UFC 300 landing, Chimaev has been urged to book a middleweight title-eliminator against former two-time divisional champion, Israel Adesanya as part of a long-standing rivalry.

What are your thoughts on Khamzat Chimaev’s latest setback?

Leon Edwards ‘Well within reach’ of welterweight GOAT status according to UFC play-By-Play man Jon Anik

Leon Edwards couldn’t ask for a better start to his welterweight title reign. Since claiming the 170-pound crown with…

Leon Edwards couldn’t ask for a better start to his welterweight title reign.

Since claiming the 170-pound crown with “the kick heard around the world” at UFC 278, ‘Rocky’ has scored back-to-back wins against Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington, two of the most dangerous men in the division’s illustrious history. Next on the docket for Edwards appears to be a rematch No. 2 ranked contender, Belal Muhammad.

The pair previously matched up in 2021, but the bout was cut short after an accidental eye poke from Edwards rendered ‘Remember the Name’ unable to continue. Neither the UFC nor Edwards himself appears overly thrilled with the idea of putting Muhammad into the title picture, but play-by-play man Jon Anik believes the bout will play a pivotal role in building the Brit’s legacy as the welterweight division’s greatest of all time.

“I’m not necessarily surprised,” Anik said in an interview with Bodog Canada. “It’s not Leon Edwards’ job as undisputed UFC welterweight champion to lay the foundation for his next title defense. Certainly, if his aspiration is to go down as the greatest welterweight champion of all time — and by the way that is well within reach when you just beat Kamaru Usman twice and then Colby Covington. If that’s the goal, he should want to take out and beat all of these guys.

“I think you need to marry the financial goals with the career-aspirational goals,” he continued. “I mean, he’s a Hall of Famer first ballot, but to go down potentially as the greatest welterweight of all time, if Belal Muhammad is indeed easy work, I think that fight makes a lot of sense” (h/t MMA Mania).

Unbeaten in his last 10 outings, Muhammad has made a very strong case for receiving his first title shot. Despite that, the promotion has remained reluctant in dubbing him as the next man in line. Last stepping inside the Octagon in May 2023, ‘Bully B’ scored a decisive decision victory over one-time title challenger Gilbert Burns.

If Belal Muhammad is not next for Leon Edwards, then who?

Aside from Muhammad, the next best option is undefeated sensation Shavkat Rakhmonov who delivered a show-stealing performance against Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson at the promotion’s final pay-per-view event of the year.

Unfortunately, ‘Nomad’ is currently nursing an ankle injury leaving only one other option in Anik’s eyes.

“Khamzat Chimaev is the only man who can lay claim to a Welterweight title shot right now, as far as I’m concerned, other than Belal Muhammad, and he’s not competing at the weight class,” Anik said. “Belal has one of these unbeaten streaks like all of the champions do, and he doesn’t get any pound-for-pound consideration. I just think we have to restore a little bit of order, and I do think the UFC is going to make the right decision here.”

Robbery Of The Year – LowKick MMA 2023 Awards

While there were plenty of options available for Robbery of the Year in 2023, the LowKick MMA staff largely…

While there were plenty of options available for Robbery of the Year in 2023, the LowKick MMA staff largely landed on one especially egregious decision as its favorite. Or in this case, least favorite.

Earning five nominations and running away with the vote was the June 3 main event clash between former interim flyweight title challenger Kai Kara-France and streaking division standout Amir Albazi.

Robbery of the Year – Amir Albazi vs. Kai Kara-France – UFC Fight Night: Kara-France vs. Albazi – (5 votes)

Amir Albazi scored the biggest win of his career, but in the eyes of many, including UFC CEO Dana White, it left a lot of unanswered questions.

Throughout their five-round affair, neither fighter could assert themselves for long stretches. However, Kara-France noticeably upped his urgency as time went on, delivering a strong finish that convinced several of his peers that he had won the fight. Instead, Albazi was handed the victory via split decision, causing an uproar from fans and fighters alike.

Kara-Frances’ teammate, Israel Adesanya, immediately called for firing the two judges who favored Albazi along with offering some more colorful commentary in response to the blatant robbery.

Honorable Mentions:

Joselyn Edwards vs. Lucie Pudilova – UFC Fight Night: Holloway vs. Allen – (2 votes)

Kicking off the UFC’s return to Kansas City, Joselyn Edwards escaped with a much-maligned split decision after giving up seven and a half minutes of control time to Lucie Pudilova. Scoring on two of her seven takedown attempts, Pudilova lit up Edwards on the ground with a series of ground-and-pound strikes. However, Edwards held the advantage in significant strikes, landing 56 compared to Pudilova’s 39.

Media scores from 15 MMA news outlets favored Pudilova with them primarily pointing to her control time that spanned 50% of the contest. In the end, Edwards walked away with a split decision, giving us our first big robbery of 2023.

That’s really bad! What a bad start to the night with Judging. Holy shit

— Daniel Cormier (@dc_mma) April 15, 2023

Islam Makhachev vs. Alexander Volkanovski – UFC 284 – (1 vote)

This is one nomination for Robbery of the Year that had fight fans understandably split. After dominating the featherweight division for years, Alexander Volkanovski stepped up to lightweight for an opportunity to challenge reigning 155-pound champion Islam Makhachev.

Earning Fight of the Year honors, Makhachev vs. Volkanovski delivered a brilliant back-and-forth battle that ultimately saw the ‘Dagestani Destroyer’ leave with his title intact, though it didn’t come without a bit of controversy. Makhachev clearly controlled the ground game, scoring four of nine takedowns with more than seven and a half minutes of control time.

But it was Volkanovski who would go on to land 164 total strikes compared to Makhachev’s 95. That discrepancy was more than enough for fans to see it in favor of Volkanovski, but all three judges disagreed, favoring Makhachev via unanimous decision.

Khamzat Chimaev vs. Kamaru usman – UFC 294 – (1 vote)

Former welterweight world champion Kamaru Usman stepped into UFC 294 on 11 days’ notice to square off with undefeated Chechen monster Khamzat Chimaev in the evening’s co-main event. Despite the short-notice nature of the contest and the fact that Usman was moving up a weight class, Chimaev had a surprisingly difficult time while tussling with ‘The Nigerian Nightmare.’

After 15 minutes, judge David Lethaby scored the bout a 28-28 draw while judges Derek Clearly and Vito Paolillo scored it in favor of Chimaev, resulting in a majority decision. Though not everyone agreed with the decision, Chimaev landed nearly twice as many total strikes as his opponent. On top of that, Chimaev scored on four of 12 attempted takedowns resulting in 7:16 in control time.

Which robbery would you have voted as the best (or worst) or 2023?

Full List Of The LowKick MMA 2023 Robbery Of The Year Votes:

Ross Markey: Amir Albazi
Ian Shutts: Amir Albazi
Murdo Todd: Joselyn Edwards
Craig Pekios: Islam Makhachev
Makoa Goble: Amir Albazi
Tony King: Amir Albazi
Red Pill MMA: Khamzat Chimaev
Michael Owens: Amir Albazi
Danny Podolsky: Joselyn Edwards

Josh Thomson questions Khamzat Chimaev’s ability amid UFC sidelining: ‘I’m not sold on him yet’

Former UFC and Bellator lightweight contender, Josh Thomson has claimed he not’s entirely sold on the ability or perceived…

Former UFC and Bellator lightweight contender, Josh Thomson has claimed he not’s entirely sold on the ability or perceived dominance of unbeaten welterweight force, Khamzat Chimaev – as the Chechen-born contender faces another spell on the sidelines through another recent surgery.

Chimaev, 29, improved to 13-0 back in October in the co-main event of UFC 294, landing a close, majority decision win over former undisputed welterweight champion and pound-for-pound number one, Kamaru Usman in the pair’s middleweight clash in Abu Dhabi.

The victory came as Chimaev’s first in the Octagon since he landed a dominant opening round D’Arce choke submission win over Kevin Holland at UFC 279 back in September of last year.

Recently undergoing a surgical procedure to address a ligament injury suffered in his hand in the opening round of his UFC 294 win over Auchi native, Usman, Chimaev has been backed to feature at UFC 300 next year – amid continued links to a blockbuster title-eliminator fight with former champion, Israel Adesanya.

Khamzat Chimaev’s future called into question

However, one vocal pundit who questions if Chimaev can continue in his dominant vein in his return is Thomson, who admitted he’s not sold on the highly-touted challenger.

“I’m not – I’ve said this the last time I saw him (Khamzat Chimaev) fight – I’m not sold on him, yet,” Josh Thomson said on his podcast. “I’m not sold on Khamzat Chimaev. Everyone’s like ‘you’re stupid, you’re being a hater,’ I’m like, no, I don’t care what you guys say. I’ve been in the fight game a long, long time. Fighters come, fighters go. They explode into 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.”

“Charles Oliveira is one of the guys that had a resurgence,” Thomson explained. “A lot of guys before in the past never did. Melvin Guillard never did. He came on like fireworks and then just kind of fizzled out and faded away and I don’t even know where he’s at now. You know what I mean? That’s no knock on him, that happens to a lot of fighters, I’m just using him as an example. Khamzat Chimaev, I don’t think that’s gonna happen to him, he’s got great wrestling – but he doesn’t have the wrestling of Bo Nickal.”

Do you think Khamzat Chimaev is destined for the top?

Paulo Costa calls out ‘Chechen Fraud’ Khamzat Chimaev, seeks unbeaten star for blockbuster UFC 300 fight

Although Paulo Costa has a fight with Robert Whittaker lined up for UFC 298, he’s claiming that he wants…

Although Paulo Costa has a fight with Robert Whittaker lined up for UFC 298, he’s claiming that he wants to make a quick turnaround to participate in the historic UFC 300 event.

The fight with Whittaker is rapidly approaching, and in mid-February fans will get to see the clash. Costa is 3-2 in his last five, with his last win a decision victory over Luke Rockhold.

Khamzat Chimaev and Paulo Costa have been scheduled to fight before, but the fight ultimately fell through and was canceled. This has no doubt left Costa eager to finally face the Chechen-born Swede in the octagon.

Paulo Costa wants war with ‘Chechen Fraud’ Khamzat Chimaev

Taking to Twitter (as he so often does), Paulo Costa launched a few insults in the direction of Chimaev and hinted that he’d like to throw down with the man at UFC 300. Such a fight would doubtlessly be of absurd hype, considering the venue, and Costa has shown fans he loves the spotlight.

“Gourmet chenchen fraud still hidden,” Costa began on Twitter. “I gonna fight Whittaker Feb 17 and also April UFC 300 and while this bum trying get some muscles.”

Delivering some very eloquent lines, Paulo Costa is setting the stage for a giant 2024. A win over Whittaker at UFC 298, followed by an absurdly hyped fight with Chimaev at UFC 300 could land ‘Borrachina’ back in title contention. Especially considering the looming fight between Dricus Du Plessis and middleweight champion Sean Strickland, which could go either way.

Do you think Paulo Costa vs. Khamzat Chimaev would be a good fight?

Bo Nickal Believes Khamzat Chimaev would ‘Beat Up’ Leon Edwards in potential title tilt, talks ‘Rocky’ vs. Makhachev

Bo Nickal believes reigning welterweight world champion Leon Edwards would get pummeled by Khamzat Chimaev but expects a potential…

Bo Nickal believes reigning welterweight world champion Leon Edwards would get pummeled by Khamzat Chimaev but expects a potential clash between ‘Rocky’ and Islam Makhachev to be fairly competitive.

Edwards is coming off a solid five-round performance against Colby Covington at UFC 296 to retain his title. Next on the docket for ‘Rocky’ should be a rematch with No. 2 ranked contender Belal Muhammad, but it seems like everyone outside of the welterweight division is chomping at the bit to get their hands on Edwards.

Immediately following the final fight of 2023, Islam Makhachev called for a clash with Leon Edwards in 2024, claiming he could finish both Edwards and Covington.

Khamzat Chimaev has also suggested moving back down to 170 in hopes of claiming his first world title at the expense of Edwards

Rising middleweight prospect Bo Nickal believes a fight between Edwards and Makhachev could be fairly competitive. However, the former three-time NCAA Division I National Champion suggested that ‘Rocky’ would get thoroughly manhandled by the undefeated Chechen monster.

“I think there are guys that are going to be able to give him some resistance and stuff,” Nickal said of Edwards on his YouTube channel. “If Khamzat [Chimaev] goes back down, that’s a freaking tough fight for him. Islam would be a tough fight for him, as well, but I think that’s really competitive.

“I feel like Khamzat comes down, he would probably beat him up. But Islam coming up, even though he’s a big 55’er, Leon’s big. Leon can freaking strike. Colby was able to hold him down a good amount, so who knows? And Leon’s smart, he keeps his cool so, I don’t know” (h/t The News & Observer).

The Impressive Win Streaks of Edwards, Chimaev, and Makhachev

Khamzat Chimaev kicked off his UFC career scoring three finishes in eight weeks. Since then, his pace has slowed, though his success inside the Octagon has been nonetheless impressive. Chimaev has earned victories over Gilbert Burns, Kevin Holland, and former welterweight world champion Kamaru Usman in his last three appearances.

Chimaev is currently rumored to be in talks for a fight with two-time middleweight champ Israel Adesanya at UFC 300 in April, though no official announcements have been made.

As for Islman Makhachev, the reigning lightweight king is coming off an impressive first-round knockout of Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 294. ‘The Great’ stepped in on 11 days’ notice to run back their instant classic from February and ultimately paid the price, suffering a vicious head-kick KO.

“And Islam, he’s not 100 percent grappler,” Nickal continued. “He tries to strike a lot with all the guys he’s fought pretty much.”

Islam Makhachev and Khamzat Chimaev are both on a 13-fight win streak while Leon Edwards has bested his last 12 opponents in a row.