Lingering effects from COVID-19 continue to take their toll on
Khamzat
Chimaev.
The UFC welterweight prospect seemingly announced his retirement in
a cryptic statement on Instagram Monday evening.
“I want to say thank you all so much for supporting me in my
journey in this sport,” Chimaev wrote (translation via Google). “I
think I’m done, yes I know I didn’t take the belt but it’s not the
most important victory in his life. It may upset you but my heart
and body tell me everything. I want to say a big thank you to my
team [Allstars Training Center]. I want to say a big thank you to
UFC.”
Additionally, Chimaev posted photos on Instagram Stories of what
appeared to be blood in a sink. Chimaev was recently
flown to Las Vegas by the UFC to receive additional medical
care after he withdrew from UFC Fight Night 187 due to lingering
symptoms from the virus. It was the second time he was forced to
pull out of a fight vs. Leon
Edwards due to COVID-19 issues after contracting it in
December.
However, UFC president Dana White says that Chimaev was simply
emotional following an ill-advised training session and isn’t
retiring from MMA.
“When he got here [to Las Vegas], the doctors took care of him, and
they put him on prednisone, which is a nasty f—-ing steroid,” White
told
MMA Junkie. “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—-ing trained today, felt like s—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—ing weekend, and now he
can’t even train, so he just got emotional and posted that, but he
ain’t quitting.”
White said that he spoke with Chimaev personally and that the plan
is still for the Chechen-born fighter to make his Octagon return in
June.
“He was flown out here so that we could take care of him,” White
said. “We get him taken care of. They got him on medication. He’s
going to be fine, and he goes in and starts f—-ing training. He’s
not supposed to be training, and he’s super frustrated.
“He’s training when he’s supposed to be resting. He’s got to stay
off, at least while he’s on this medication.”
Chimaev was a breakout star in 2020, earning dominant finishes of
John
Phillips, Rhys McKee
and Gerald
Meerschaert to quickly become of person of interest in the UFC
at 170 pounds. He was initially booked against Leon
Edwards at UFC Fight Night 183 on Dec. 19, but that was fight
was scrapped after Edwards tested positive for COVID-19. Since
then, ongoing problems from Chimaev’s own battle with the virus
resulted in cancellations of the matchup with Edwards on Jan. 20
and March 13. Edwards will now face Belal
Muhammad in the new UFC Fight Night 187 headliner on March
13.