Khamzat Chimaev is the REAL DEAL
INSANE.
#UFCVegas11 pic.twitter.com/kqbhHJYJS3— UFC Canada (@UFC_CA)
September 20, 2020
It appears that Khamzat
Chimaev is on the way to making a full recovery.
In an interview with
ESPN, the burgeoning welterweight star revealed that he has
resumed training and is hoping to return to UFC competition by
August. Chimaev
hinted at retirement in early March after lingering effects
from COVID-19 forced him to pull out of proposed bookings against
Leon
Edwards on Jan. 20 and March 13.
“If you are sick, you cannot think about [a] fight,” Chimaev told
ESPN. “I was thinking, ‘One month, sick. Then still, two months.
When am I going to be finished with this s—?’ I’m healthy now,
hungry again. I want to get back and smash somebody and make
money.”
Chimaev was flown to Las Vegas earlier this year to receive
treatment from UFC medical staff for his ongoing issues. He
revealed in his latest interview that he also recently underwent an
operation in his native Chechnya to further address his condition,
and it helped significantly. He did not give specific details
regarding that procedure.
“When I come back to my country, they helped me and did an
operation that took some stuff, I don’t know how to explain in
English,” Chimaev said. “Now, I feel much better. I can’t wait. I
am more than 93 kilos [205 pounds], feeling stronger. I just
started to train with my team, and I will find [an opponent] to
kill.”
UFC president Dana White previously stated that Chimaev’s
conditioned worsened when he began training at high intensity
before he supposed to do so. Chimaev admitted that was part of the
problem initially, as he posted photos on social media of blood in
the sink following that session.
“When I go to sparring, I told [manager Ali Abdelaziz], ‘I’m only
going to do pads,’ but this was lying,” Chimaev said. “I jumped in
grappling sparring, did three rounds. Feel bad in my chest, I said, ‘Coach, I go out.’ I go home and start to [cough] blood. I was
never scared about my life. I’m scared about what my mom is going
to do after I die. My mom, my brothers … I was thinking, ‘What are
they gonna do after I die?’ I start with this MMA s—t because of
my family. I want to make some good life with them.”
Chimaev was a breakout star in 2020, earning dominant finishes of
John
Phillips, Rhys McKee
and Gerald
Meerschaert to quickly become a person of interest in the UFC
at 170 pounds. The promotion already tabbed him for big things by
booking him in a headlining position opposite Edwards, and Chimaev
still has plenty of motivation to show the world what he can do and
deliver on that hype.
“I think it’s [the] right decision,” Chimaev said. “I only did
[three fights in the UFC]. I didn’t show who I am. People still
talk, ‘Ah, he beat bulls—t guys.’ That makes me [feel] inside
somewhere — now I have to show these people who I am and smash
everybody, take my belt. I am MMA Mike Tyson. MMA Muhammad Ali. I’m
going to show everybody.”