Khamzat Chimaev has taken some heat for his lack of activity in recent years.
After emerging as one of the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s hottest prospects in 2020, Chimaev’s ascent has slowed somewhat. He fought just once in 2023 and will make his first appearance this year when he meets Robert Whittaker in the UFC 308 co-headliner on Saturday at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.
“Borz” was supposed to face Whittaker at UFC Saudi Arabia on June 22, but the Chechen-born Swede was forced to pull out of the event after become “violently ill” a little more than a week before the fight. According to Chimaev, his exit occurred due to circumstances beyond his control.
“We were in training camp. The first month was very good,” Chimaev said on the UFC Countdown show. “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.
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“I was in the hospital for a couple of days. I came out and started to train again and the same s—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.”
Chimaev recently revealed that he has altered his training approach to emphasize rest and recovery during his camp, which he expects will improve his immune system health as fight night approaches.
The 30-year-old Chimaev is 13-0 since beginning his professional tenure in 2018. He is 7-0 in UFC competition and is coming off a majority decision triumph over former welterweight champ Kamaru Usman in his 185-pound debut at UFC 294 in October 2023.
