Getty UFC star Khamzat Chimaev celebrates win.
Rising UFC star Khamzat Chimaev plans to return to the Octagon in July after battling lingering effects from COVID-19. Chimaev pulled out of two bouts in 2021, in January and March, due to dealing with ailments like fatigue and lung issues.
Chimaev (9-0) recently spoke with RT Sport about his battle with COVID-19, revealing that he’s back to training.
“All good. I have recovered and started light training,” Chimaev said via MMA Fighting. “As soon as Ramadan is over we will begin working at 100 percent.”
But it’s been a tough road for “Borz” and at one point, he thought that he may have had cancer.
“I was doing good at first, then they told me I could start cardio training and I felt sick again,” Chimaev said of the doctors treating him. “I went to the bathroom and started coughing up blood. That just messed up my mind a bit. Honestly, it scared me… Cancer? Like, I have been sick for so long, why doesn’t it go away? Different thoughts were going through my mind, plus I was alone there in Las Vegas, struggling to overcome it all.”
“Some people die because of that disease, but I didn’t,” Chimaev continued. “I am still here, unfortunately for my opponents.”
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Chimaev Addressed His ‘Retirement’ Post in Early March
Borz shocked the MMA world earlier this month when he posted that he thought he was “done.” During his interview with RT Sport, Borz said they were “emotional words” because he had been sick for two months and was not able to recover.
“It was too long… I was feeling sick, stressed by the fact that I could not fight, could not even train,” Chimaev said. “That’s why I posted it. It wasn’t like I gave my word that I would retire. I said, ‘Maybe it’s over for me.’ Maybe it’s over, maybe it’s not. I don’t know. We don’t know what the Almighty has prepared for us. Maybe I will die tomorrow. Maybe something will happen to my opponent and the fight will be postponed. Everything at the will of the Almighty.”
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