Khamzat Chimaev raised concerns among fans after pulling out because of an illness just days before his clash against Robert Whittaker in Saudi Arabia in June. Will he be in good condition to fight the former champion at UFC 308? Well, there is a positive update regarding ‘Borz’ as lightweight star Arman Tsarukyan opened up on the Chechnyan-born Emirati fighter. ‘Borz’ has been out of action since October 2023 when he defeated Kamaru Usman. He’s been calling for a title shot, but the fact is that he’s not been reliable enough to stay fit and ready for a scheduled fight.

However, there is good news from Arman Tsarukyan, who recently trained with Khamzat Chimaev. As ‘Ahalkalakets’ is looking forward to avenging his loss and winning the title from Islam Makhachev, he decided to train with Khamzat Chimaev recently, and he’s well aware of ‘Borz’s physical state. Both fighters are also opposing coaches in the reality show ‘Hype Reality’, which is similar to ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ series.

So when Arman Tsarukyan had an interview recently, he claimed that Khamzat Chimaev has never looked so good before a fight. “He looks so good. He’s in shape, and yeah, for sure, I believe he’s gonna win [against] Robert Whittaker,” Arman Tsarukyan told ‘Submission Radio’.

Additionally, ‘Ahalkalakets’ isn’t just predicting a triumphant night for Khamzat Chimaev against the former 185-pound king Robert Whittaker. He also envisions a title shot for the undefeated star just after UFC 308. “After that fight, he can fight for the title. He’s going to be a champion, for sure,” Tsarukyan added.

If we were to assess the lightweight star’s update about ‘Borz’, there could be an ounce of truth to it. If you’re wondering why, well, that’s because Khamzat Chimaev was seen wrestling against a former UFC fighter, who was also a champion.

‘Borz’ went viral after footage of him wrestling against Luke Rockhold surfaced online

In the recent past, rising star Bo Nickal had deemed Khamzat Chimaev’s wrestling skills to be just average. He doesn’t seem him getting past NCAA wrestlers. But guess what? The footage where ‘Borz’ wrestled former middleweight champion Luke Rockhold seemed like the Emirati star’s great ground game is a solid one, to say the least.

The grappling exchange looked pretty intense, but there was a positive takeaway for fans – Chimaev looked great and it seems that he may not have fitness issues anymore. Khamzat Chimaev happened to bump into Luke Rockhold because the latter’s gearing up for a BJJ tournament organized by BJJ star Craig Jones.

The event will go down on the 16th and 17th of August, and the winner will get prize money of $1 million. Nevertheless, taking the opportunity to spar with a former UFC champion could come in handy for ‘Borz’ ahead of his fight against Robert Whittaker, which people are predicting to be a grappling-heavy contest.

Although he has looked good in the recent training footage, do you think a win over Robert Whittaker will propel him to a title fight? Let us know your views in the comments section.