Khamzat Chimaev was all set to face off against Robert Whittaker. The world of mixed martial arts was excited to witness ‘Borz’ and ‘The Reaper’ go against each other after exchanging so much heat on social media. However, the Swedish fighter had to pull out of the fight owing to his persistent illness. His health issues even led the fight fans to think that Chimaev was all set for retirement. But now the fighter has promised to return.

Chimaev’s sudden withdrawal took a heavy toll on the event. Together with Whittaker, ‘Borz’ was supposed to end UFC’s debut event in Saudi Arabia. Being an important event, Dana White was left with very little time to get a replacement for Chimaev. Now, Ikram Aliskerov would get the chance to battle ‘The Reaper’. But what about the Chechen Wolf? Will he ever return to the Octagon? Let’s find out.

Khamzat Chimaev claims to return after drawing out of his fight at UFC Riyadh

The Swedish mixed martial artist has often stepped out of fights, despite being one of the most dominant fighters in the UFC. His health issues have kept pestering him ever since the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world. When he got “violently ill” right before the fight against Robert Whittaker, Chimaev was flustered, leaving the fighting community guessing at his retirement.

With just a few days left for the event, Chimaev left White in a time crunch to find a replacement. The UFC head honcho didn’t even try to hide his disappointment when he was asked about the Chechen fighter in an interview with Jim Rome. But is the fighter really going to hang his gloves?

Things might not go as far as retirement for Chimaev. Majdi Shammas, one of the fighter’s teammates revealed that ‘Borz’ had “no intentions of retiring”. To solidify Shammas’ claims, Chimaev recently took to Instagram and shared three words on his IG Story. He sent forth a picture of him resting after training with “Will be back…” written on top. The image further had a ‘100’ emoji, ensuring that the Chechen Wolf will return.

Even though the fighter’s return is ensured, the date is yet to be decided. Even Dana White doesn’t know when he’ll return and book a fight. He blamed it all on the uncertainty of the fighter’s health. Let’s see what the UFC head honcho said about Chimaev’s medical problems.

Dana White is tired of ‘Borz’s health problems

The UFC CEO was recently interviewed by the Radio Hall of Famer, Jim Rome, in the recent episode of ‘The Jim Rome Show’. During their conversation, Rome asked White about his thoughts on Chimaev’s withdrawal from the fight. White said, “The problem is we really don’t know every time this guy gets close to a fight. I saw video footage of him on the ground violently ill. He was hospitalized again… Every time he gets close to fighting, he gets really sick. I don’t know. I don’t know what to say. It’s not like he’s over here in this country and we’ve had doctors here look at him or anything like that. He’s sort of out of touch so it’s tough to deal with.” 

The UFC boss man didn’t hide his frustration away. Chimaev previously pulled out of his fight with Leon Edwards due to the lingering effects of COVID-19. He also missed weight in a couple of fights that led to a great uproar in the fighting community. Nevertheless, the fighter has now affirmed that he will return. The only question is when.

Do you think Chimaev will get a chance to fight Whittaker in case he returns? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.