Khamzat Chimaev seems to announce retirement after difficult battle with COVID-19
Khamzat Chimaev is one of the most talented prospects in the UFC. He burst onto the scene last year when the UFC made their debut at FIght Island. He fought three times on the island and won every bout in spectacular fashion. His stock began to soar and was even headed towards a top-five opponent when he was diagnosed with COVID-19. He has had a difficult time with the virus and now it seems his health will not permit him to continue fighting, at least at this time. Chimaev took to his personal Instagram to seemingly announce that he is walking away from the sport.
“I want to say thank you to everyone for their support in my path in this sport, Chimaev wrote. “I think I’m done, yes, I know that I didn’t take the belt, but this is not the most important victory in this life, it may upset you, but my heart and body tell me everything. I want to say a huge thank you to my team @allstarsgymsweden 🙏🏼 I want to say a huge thank you @ufc 🙏🏼 #allhamdulillah.”
Chimaev was booked against Leon Edwards for December and that is when he was diagnosed. The fight was pushed back until January and then March when Chimaev was still having trouble with his recovery. He was supposed to travel to the United States to seek medical help. UFC president Dana White spoke with MMAJunkie.com about his battle with the virus.
“When he got here, the doctors took care of him, and they put him on prednisone, which is a nasty f–king steroid,” White said. “So he’s on prednisone, and he’s supposed to be taking this thing and chilling, relaxing, and letting himself recover. He went in and f–king trained today, felt like sh*t, and got super emotional and posted that.”
White is still optimistic that Khamzat Chimaev will return later this year and possibly in June as was the plan.
