Will Khamzat Chimaev Ever Fight Again? – ‘I Don’t Know’

Dana White has questioned if Khamzat Chimaev will fight again. 

The MMA fighter pulled out of UFC Saudi Arabia and was hospitalized, meaning that his opponent, Robert Whittaker, would face Ikram Aliskerov on June 22. It was a big blow for the undefeated Chimaev, given the opportunity. It is the UFC’s first-ever card in Saudi Arabia. Given the success boxing has had in the region, it was a chance for Khamzat to expand his profile. He is undefeated and has won both of his fights at middleweight.

When the news first broke, White expressed his worries over it being a ‘violent’ illness. A member of Khamzat’s team also posted a picture of the fighter from the hospital. While subsequent news has confirmed it was a case of food poisoning, Khamzat’s history has shown he is susceptible to pulling out. He was also out of the sport during the Covid pandemic, with suggestions he felt he could have ‘died’ during the period. White has now expressed his take on the fighter’s future. 

White Reacts

“The problem is we really don’t know (what’s wrong). Every time this guy gets close to a fight, I saw video footage of him on the ground violently ill. He was hospitalized again. He hadn’t trained for three or four days or five days, I don’t know exactly what the number was but we could not put him into a fight next weekend.

“I saw this kid on Fight Island, he wanted to fight the next weekend. I let him fight the next weekend. He looked incredible. He’s been on this tear and lately, it’s been hard to get him into the Octagon. Every time he gets close to fighting, he gets really sick. I don’t know (how long he’s going to be out). I don’t know what to say. It’s not like he’s over here in this country and we’ve had doctors here look at him or anything like that. He’s sort of out of touch so it’s tough to deal with,” White said

Nevertheless, Khamzat’s team has a more positive outlook. His manager, Majdi Shammas, has ruled out suggestions that Khamzat will retire. Khamzat is undefeated in MMA, with a 13-0 record. He has won all of his seven UFC fights, stopping five of his opponents in the process. His last bout was a win against ex-UFC Welterweight Champion Kamaru Usman at UFC 294.

Khamzat Responds

Further wins will take him a step closer to a world title shot against the current middleweight championship Dricus Du Plessis. The South African will fight Israel Adesanya at UFC 305 in his next fight, giving Khamzat a big fight to target. His camp has made it clear he is going nowhere. 

“It’s absolutely not true. We’re planning on getting to the bottom of this situation, the problems. He will be back,” Majdi Shammas

Khamzat followed that statement up with an Instagram post showing him in a better condition. The photo below shows the fighter on a tractor, looking much better. The post was captioned with the following comments: “We always plan something but Allah has his own plans for us! Alhamdulilah.”