Things have not been easy for Khamzat Chimaev of late. The undefeated star has been struggling with some health complications, that led to hospitalization, which led him to withdraw from competing in Saudi Arabia last month. Without a doubt, Chimaev missed out on fighting a top contender and former champion like Robert Whittaker, but on the brighter side of things, another former champion has stepped up to fight the Emirati star.

Khamzat Chimaev recently called for a title shot. He wants that shot when he makes his return in October, and it has rubbed many MMA personalities in the wrong way. But guess what? Former champion Sean Strickland is willing to give him a shot at it, but for that to happen, ‘Tarzan’ laid down one important condition.

What is the condition for Khamzat Chimaev to fight Sean Strickland?

Sean Strickland has taken shots at Khamzat Chimaev quite a few times in the past – from taking jibes at him for asking for a title shot to revealing what went on inside the gym when they sparred. Interestingly, this time he said he was willing to give ‘Borz’ the all-important title fight he’s asking for but he has to wait until Strickland regains his title.  Ever since he lost the belt to Dricus du Plessis, it looked like the UFC had forgotten about him, pitting him against a fighter out of the top five, Paulo Costa.

Sean Strickland never got his rematch and that’s why ‘Tarzan’ has suggested that Khamzat Chimaev sit out for the time being and let him get his title back and then he can have the fight he wants. Moreover, Strickland doesn’t think it’ll take him much time to beat ‘Borz’, given that he’s claimed to have already dominated Chimaev in sparring. “I made him retire after covid… I’m fighting for the belt then he can get the smoke,” said Sean Strickland in a post on Instagram.

It could be the chance for Khamzat Chimaev to give back to Sean Strickland after what he claims to have done to him at sparring. He has already revealed having some “unfinished business” with the former champion during a recent interview, and who knows, they could stand face-to-face inside the Octagon soon.

This could be an interesting proposition for Dana White, but it’s unclear if the belt will be on the line since there are quite a few title contenders out there at this time in the 185 lbs division. After Khamzat Chimaev spoke his mind about a title fight, he would reveal some concerning details about his medical issues and what transpired when his last fight got canceled.

‘Borz’ had issues with his immunity

Khamzat Chimaev had multiple interviews recently, and in one of them, he claimed to have been dealing with immunity issues many weeks before the canceled fight against Robert Whittaker. There were several symptoms that popped up, and he rested because of it, but he could recover in time to get to Saudi Arabia and be fight-ready. “my immunity had dropped very much, and we wanted to rest a little bit, for a week. I rested and I did not come to my senses… I ended up in the hospital and, to be honest, I had severe headaches,” Chimaev told Rusian BJJ blue belt Aslanbek Badaev.

After consulting the doctors, who told him what was really happening to his body, he continued resting and came back home. However, a few days later, he’d have to visit the doctors once again as his condition was fluctuating to a certain degree. “They said it was stress, there was something there, they explained it to me. I was in the hospital for two days, then I was home. A week [I was] like this. Three days later, the same thing happened again, I ended up in the hospital again,” Chimaev added.

It will be interesting to see what Dana White has in store for Khamzat Chimaev, who may find a place in the Abu Dhabi PPV card in October given that it’s his home base. What do you think? Will Chimaev get his title shot?