There appears to be good reason why Khamzat Chimaev was left out of the middleweight title picture at the beginning of the year.
In addition to suffering a torn ligament in his hand in his hand during a victory over Kamaru Usman at UFC 294, Chimaev revealed that he was recently “very sick” in a since-deleted post on social media.
“I was very sick, my hand was injured, so I couldn’t return right away,” Chimaev wrote in the translated post, which was accompanied by several concerning images. “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.”
While Chimaev appeared to be a leading candidate to face reigning middleweight champion Sean Strickland following his triumph at UFC 294, Strickland’s manager said that Chimaev wasn't discussed as a potential option. Instead, Strickland is slated to face Dricus Du Plessis in the UFC 297 headliner on Jan. 20 in Toronto.
After deleting the initial post, Chimaev took on a more optimistic tone in a subsequent video.
“I’m coming back for my belt,” he said.
Chimaev has emerged as one of the UFC’s hottest stars since his promotional debut in 2020. “Borz” has compiled a 7-0 record in the Octagon, with most of his victories coming in dominant fashion. His ledger includes triumphs over the likes of Usman, Gilbert Burns, Kevin Holland and Jingliang Li.
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