Khamzat Chimaev News

Chris Taylor - May 1, 2021

Nick Diaz will not be making his highly anticipated Octagon return against Khamzat Chimaev according to his manager Kevin Mubenga. Earlier this week, Chris Taylor of BJPENN.com reported that the eldest Diaz brother had been formally offered a fight with Chimaev for later this summer.

Adam D Martin - April 27, 2021

UFC welterweight contender Khamzat Chimaev explained why he wants to be the man who welcomes the legend Nick Diaz back into the Octagon. At UFC 261 this past Saturday in Jacksonville, Diaz was a guest at the event and apparently spoke to UFC president Dana White about making a comeback. On Monday night, BJPenn.com’s Chris Taylor reported that the UFC has offered Chimaev the Diaz fight.

Adam D Martin - April 23, 2021

UFC welterweight contender Neil Magny says that Khamzat Chimaev is “all talk” and he is open to fighting him when he returns to the Octagon. Magny returns to the Octagon on May 8 when he takes on fellow top-15 ranked welterweight Geoff Neal. Before the Magny vs. Neal fight was booked, Magny was linked to a fight against Khamzat Chimaev, but the fight wasn’t booked as the Swede is stilll not cleared to fight again after a vicious battle with COVID-19. Still, should Magny get by Neal in a few weeks’ time, he is interested in stepping into the Octagon with Chimaev as well.

Cole Shelton - April 22, 2021

Khamzat Chimaev believes he can compete at light heavyweight and beat the current champ in Jan Blachowicz. Chimaev took the MMA world by storm in 2020 as he fought twice in 10 days and earned wins at welterweight and middleweight. He followed that up with a one-punch KO over Gerald Meerschaert and was then booked to face Leon Edwards. Unfortunately, he has been dealing with lingering effects of COVID-19 but is eyeing a July or August return.

Adam D Martin - April 13, 2021

UFC welterweight contender Khamzat Chimaev is targeting a return to the Octagon in the late summer, according to his manager, Ali Abdelaziz. Chimaev was supposed to fight Leon Edwards in March in what would have been a potential No. 1 contender fight at 170lbs. However, Chimaev was forced to withdraw from the fight due to a bad experience with COVID-19, one that left him coughing up blood and thinking he had cancer. Fortunately, it appears as though Chimaev is now finally getting healthy. While he originally said that he was going to walk away from the sport, he has said in recent weeks that he has his motivation back and he is excited to fight again soon.

Chris Taylor - April 3, 2021

Khamzat Chimaev has issued a bold statement ahead of his proposed UFC return, this while taking a shot at reigning welterweight champ Kamaru Usman. Chimaev (9-0 MMA) has been one of the many unfortunate victims of the global pandemic and due to lingering symptoms, has been unable to compete since the fall of 2020.

Adam Martin - March 28, 2021

UFC welterweight prospect Khamzat Chimaev revealed he thought he had cancer when he coughed up blood after a training session in Las Vegas. Chimaev was supposed to fight Leon Edwards in March but he was forced out of the fight due to a severe battle with COVID-19, a battle that left him coughing up blood and thinking his career was over. Speaking to RT Sport in a recent interview, Chimaev revealed that his initial instinct was to think he had cancer after seeing himself cough up blood into the sink.

Adam D Martin - March 25, 2021

UFC welterweight contender Neil Magny shut down Khamzat Chimaev’s request to fight in July, saying that Chimaev should get healthy first. Chimaev announced this week that he will be returning to the Octagon this summer, and he’s already been busy calling out Magny again. Chimaev is hoping to get a fight with someone ranked near the top-10 and Magny is available. Hopefully, Chimaev has been ill with COVID-19 for the last few months and he hasn’t been able to fight. Now that there is light at the end of the tunnel and he plans on making his return this summer, he’s looking to make a splash in his comeback, and beating a veteran like Magny qualifies as doing that.

Cole Shelton - March 23, 2021

Khamzat Chimaev is ready to return. After Chimaev was forced out of his March 13 main event fight against Leon Edwards, he announced his retirement from MMA. He was dealing with lingering effects of COVID-19 and couldn’t train properly, forcing him to retire.

Chris Taylor - March 13, 2021

UFC President Dana White is no longer fully optimistic that fight fans will get to see Khamzat Chimaev compete inside the Octagon again. Chimaev (9-0 MMA) has been one of the many unfortunate victims of the global pandemic and due to lingering symptoms, has been unable to compete since the fall of 2020.

Adam Martin - March 4, 2021

The brother of UFC welterweight contender Khamzat Chimaev says the Russian star became “depressed” and “frightened” after coughing up blood. Chimaev was one of the UFC’s breakout stars in 2020. The former BRAVE CF prospect joined the UFC on Fight Island last summer and proceeded to pick up three finishes over John Phillips, Rhys McKee, and Gerald Meerschaert. He was set to fight top-ranked Leon Edwards in a potential No. 1 contender bout earlier this year, but the fight was pushed back after Chimaev contracted COVID-19. The UFC pushed the fight back to March, but it was scratched a few weeks ago when Chimaev’s COVID-19 issues were not getting any better. Instead, Edwards now takes on Belal Muhammad on the March 13 UFC card.

Cole Shelton - March 4, 2021

Dana White doesn’t know what Khamzat Chimaev’s fighting future looks like. This past week, Chimaev took to Instagram where he appeared to announce his retirement from MMA. He still has lingering effects from COVID-19 and has thought he was going to die several times. However, after he posted the now-deleted message, White revealed Chimaev would still fight again, but now, he is uncertain about that.

Adam Martin - March 2, 2021

Chael Sonnen blasted the “fake tough guys” atop the UFC welterweight division, suggesting that “none of the top-five guys want to fight.” Sonnen was a guest on the “Victory Loves Company” podcast with Jim West and James Lynch, and was asked his thoughts on the UFC welterweight division. Kamaru Usman currently is the champion and seems likely to rematch Jorge Masvidal in his next fight, but nothing has been put to paper yet. Meanwhile, Colby Covington continues to sit out in hopes for a big fight, while Leon Edwards hasn’t fought in almost two years. It’s been frustrating for fans to watch, as the UFC 170lbs division is one of the marquee weight classes in the promotion. Yet for whatever reason, there doesn’t seem to be much urgency for the top fighters in the weight class to step into the cage, and Sonnen finds that very frustrating.

Tom Taylor - March 2, 2021

Ramzan Kadyrov, the head of the Chechen Republic, says he has convinced UFC star Khamzat Chimaev not to retire from mixed martial arts. Chimaev, a native of the Chechen Republic currently living in Sweden, is arguably the hottest prospect in MMA at present, but has been sidelined due to health complications stemming from a recent COVID-19 infection.

Christopher Taylor - March 1, 2021

Dana White has weighed in after budding UFC star Khamzat Chimaev announced his sudden retirement from mixed martial arts. Chimaev (9-0 MMA) has been one of many unfortunate victims of the global pandemic and due to lingering symptoms he has been unable to compete since last fall.

Cole Shelton - March 1, 2021

Khamzat Chimaev has apparently retired from MMA. Chimaev, who became a superstar in the UFC in 2020, was set to challenge Leon Edwards in December. However, the fight was postponed due to Edwards testing positive for COVID-19. The fight was rebooked for January but the Swede got COVID-19 and it was pushed back to March. However, due to the lingering effects of the virus, the fight was canceled again and now, it appears it has resulted in Chimaev announcing his retirement from MMA.

Tom Taylor - February 18, 2021

Former fighter and MMA analyst Chael Sonnen believes the UFC’s top welterweights are all “scared” of rising prospect Khamzat Chimaev. The UFC welterweight top 5 is currently jam-packed with elite talent like champ Kamaru Usman, and top contenders Colby Covington, Gilbert Burns, Leon Edwards and Jorge Masvidal. Unfortunately, the division’s top fighters haven’t been particularly active of late, and Sonnen believes that’s due in part to the arrival of Chimaev.

Cole Shelton - February 16, 2021

Khamzat Chimaev is en route to Las Vegas to receive medical care for his lingering effects from COVID-19. After Chimaev got COVID-19, his fight against Leon Edwards on January 20 was postponed until March 13. However, recently, it was revealed the fight was canceled again due to Chimaev still dealing with lingering effects from the virus.