Khamzat Chimaev’s withdrawal from the UFC’s main event vs. Robert Whittaker has severely damaged the organization’s debut in Saudi Arabia.
Due to being “violently ill,” Chimaev (13-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) has been forced to withdraw from the UFC on ABC 6 middleweight headliner scheduled for June 22 at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh versus Whittaker (25-7 MMA, 16-5 UFC).
Ikram Aliskerov (17-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC), a past opponent of Chimaev’s, will take his place in the highly anticipated bout. Aliskerov was forced out of Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 58 co-main event against Antonio Trocoli and will now take on Whittaker.
Is Khamzat Chimaev Retiring From UFC?
Since leaving the Octagon a year ago, Khamzat Chimaev’s fight frequency has suffered dramatically. Not only that, but his body may be signaling an early retirement. That being said, there are reports that the fighter is considering pausing his career in the Octagon.
Things don’t go Khamzat Chimaev’s way after UFC 294. As promised by Dana White, the unbeaten fighter overcame Kamaru Usman to take the lead in the middleweight division; nevertheless, Chimaev’s health never aided him in this respect as he had to deal with a severe skin illness right after the fight.
This resulted in “Borz” spending many days in the hospital. Nevertheless, he healed and was set to face Robert Whittaker; unfortunately, it happened again, and “Borz” had to back out this time.
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Since COVID-19, Khamzat Chimaev’s health has been deteriorating. Because of his critical health, he had to postpone multiple battles against Leon Edwards, the welterweight champion. The unbeaten fighter appears to have been taken aback by the persistent effects of Sars.
The MMA community is currently unaware of the reason for Chimaev’s hospitalization, but one thing is sure: this will worsen his already strained relationship with the UFC.
MMA UNCENSORED posted about Khamzat Chimaev’s retirement on their social media handle;
“Khamzat Chimaev is contemplating retiring from mixed martial arts and the UFC after recent illness forced him out the main event in Saudi Arabia.
Chimaev is undefeated at 13-0 but has 6 cancelled fights since joining the organization in July 2020.”
Amidst the commotion, speculations circulated that “Borz” intended to leave the MMA scene entirely. His tally of fights that exited early has reached an astounding six. Numerous sources indicate that Chimaev is considering it, but now, nothing is certain.
Fans commented on the post showing their pov on Broz’s rumored retirement:
Dana White is already keeping quiet about the events, and Team Chimaev has not yet responded to inquiries regarding the likelihood of the event. Although the news of the fighter’s retirement may be a rumor, it should be noted that this is not the first time the unbeaten fighter has thought about retiring early.
