One of the fastest rising stars in the UFC may be walking away from his fighting career.
On Monday, Chimaev (9-0, 3-0 UFC) took to social media to share that he thinks he’s “done” even though he didn’t achieve his goal of earning UFC gold.
“Borz” recently pulled out of his fight with Leon Edwards, which was set to take place later this month. It was the second time this year Chimaev backed out of a fight this year as he is still struggling with physical effects from COVID-19.
“I want to say thank you all so much for supporting me in my journey in this sport,” Chimaev wrote via Instagram translation. “I think I’m done, yes I know I didn’t take the belt but it’s 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 big thank you to my team @allstargymsweden. I want to say a big thank you to @ufc.”
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UFC President Dana White Doesn’t Think Chimaev is Done
After Chimaev shared his statement on social media, MMA Junkie reached out to UFC president Dana White to comment on the Russian. White doesn’t believe Borz is quitting, saying that Chimaev “just got emotional” after a training session.
“When he got here, the doctors took care of him, and they put him on prednisone, which is a nasty f*cking steroid,” White said via the outlet.” 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*cking trained today, felt like sh*t, and got super emotional and posted that.
“He’s not supposed to be training, but you know, this guy’s a savage. He wants to fight like every f*cking weekend, and now he can’t even train, so he just got emotional and posted that, but he ain’t quitting.”
White also told the outlet he believes Chimaev will make his Octagon return in June.
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Chimaev Was One of the Breakout Stars of 2020 in the UFC
The reason Borz’s Instagram post was so shocking to fans is that he was one of the biggest names coming out of 2020. He made his UFC debut in July and submitted John Phillips in a middleweight clash. Ten days later, Chimaev returned to the Octagon and finished Rhys McKee in a welterweight bout by TKO.
Less than two months later, Chimaev knocked out Gerald Meerschaert in only 14 seconds at middleweight. The three victories, along with his charisma on the mic and social media, set Borz up for a fight with the third ranked welterweight in the UFC, Leon Edwards.
A few days before his post, Chimaev shared he wanted to return in June. He also challenged No. 9 ranked Neil Magny.
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Khamzat Chimaev Shocks UFC World: ‘I Think I’m Done’