Khamzat Chimaev’s fighting future is once again in question after he officially pulled out of this weekend’s UFC Fight Night: Saudi Arabia main event, leaving Dana White perplexed as to what the Chechen’s future holds.
Chimaev, currently ranked 10th in the middleweight division, had been sidelined since October last year but improved to 13-0 with a controversial majority decision victory over former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman.
And unbeaten contender Chimaev, who was due to take main event honours in Riyadh this weekend, was forced to pull out of his bout with former division champion Robert Whittaker after being hit with food poisoning.
Former opponent Ikram Aliskerov took his place and is now set to face Oakland-born favourite Whittaker at UFC Saudi Arabia, but Chimaev was not cleared to make his scheduled return to the Octagon, bringing his momentum to a halt once again.
Dana White worried about Khamzat Chimaev’s future
Commenting on Chimaev’s withdrawal from Riyadh, White described the boxer as “very sick” and claimed the athlete came very close to the finish line but then seemed to lose steam.
“I saw the kid (Khamzat Chimaev) on Fight Island and he said he wanted to fight next weekend,” Dana White told Jim Rome. “I gave him the fight the next weekend. He was in unbelievable shape. He was in great shape and it’s been tough to get him in the Octagon lately.”
“Every time we get closer to a fight, he gets really sick,” White continued. “I don’t know. [how long it’s going to be before he fights again]I don’t know what to say. He’s not even in this country. [United States]”And we’ve had doctors here check him up. He’s naive, so it’s hard to deal with.”
Chimaev had already been offered a path to return to the ring, but was called back by his previous opponent, Brazilian Paulo Costa, who claimed a bout with Chimaev would bring back his old “ferocity”.
When do you think we’ll see Khamzat Chimaev return to the Octagon?