The UFC moves fast. So fast, in fact, that an injury can radically derail a fighter’s place in their division, as happened with Khamzat Chimaev recently. After all, ‘Borz’ was set for a title shot as the last year ended, but will now have to fight again for a shot at the UFC’s vaunted middleweight title. However, there were also rumors that the ethnic Chechen had been denied a US visa because of his connections to the controversial leader of Chechnya.

The fact that ‘Borz’ cannot enter the US was seemingly confirmed by the native Chechen’s recent bizarre claim that “As long as Donald Trump hasn’t returned to America, we can’t come back to the US.” And UFC analyst extraordinaire Chael Sonnen, who was among the first to break this story earlier this year, is taking a victory lap, while also acknowledging the broken hand may be the main reason Chimaev didn’t fight for the title this January.

“[Sean] Strickland was in, Chimaev was in [for a UFC 297 title shot], and all of a sudden we got the turn of the year coming and we get Dricus Du Plessis gets the shot. So what happened? How come it wasn’t Chimaev like was promised? Well turns out at least by reports that Chimaev had broken his hand in the Kamaru Usman… so he was out,” Sonnen said on his YouTube channel.

Rumors and reports began to circulate that Chimaev couldn’t enter the US first late last year. Then, ‘Borz’ was the official number one title contender for a middleweight title shot against then-champ Sean Strickland on UFC 297 in January, but turned it down. And while the reason he gave was a hand injury, some, such as Sonnen felt there was more going on than met the eye.

And finally, Sonnen seems to have been vindicated. The verbose UFC analyst, however, had a bigger point in bringing up the visa issue he feared the UFC may not even be given the chance to become champion since he cannot fight in the USA, where an overwhelming majority of the UFC cards are held.

“But all of this is in conjunction with a story that Chimaev cannot get to the US. Now the one and only problem with that story, and there really was only one is it was the second time we’d been told it. In fact, the first time we’ve been told it, I broke that story to you guys… So if he in fact can’t get to the US for Visa issues, can he be champion?” a concerned Sonnen asked fans. This question is especially germane and relevant since Chimaev is gearing up for a very tough matchup against a middleweight great that will definitely have title implications.

Khamzat Chimaev changed team, and training regimen to mitigate health issues

Khamzat Chimaev will fight former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker on the promotion’s annual October Abu Dhabi card on UFC 308. If Chimaev can make it to the fight, that is. After all, the ethnic Chechen was set to face ‘Reaper’ in June this year, too, but had to pull out due to health issues, which have become something of a theme for Chimaev recently.

The winner of that bout looks set for a middleweight title shot next. After Sean Strickland that is, who is set to rematch reigning champ Dricus Du Plessis after their razor-close UFC 297 bout. And ‘Borz’ has made a lot of changes to make sure he doesn’t pull out due to health issues again. The UAE citizen now has a new team around him. Crediting his previous health issues to overtraining, ‘Borz’ has gotten rid of his previous coaches, and gone with a more laid-back training regimen that has given his body plenty of time to rest and recover.

But, Sonnen is worried that all of this may be in vain if Chimaev is prevented from entering the US. After all, is it really sustainable for Dana White and Co. to have a champion who can essentially only fight in the Middle East? And since business concerns are almost always front and center for the UFC when making decisions, not being able to monetize a champion, and one with Chimaev’s popularity in its biggest market may well make them reconsider giving Chimaev a title shot even if he wins in October. What are your thoughts on Chael Sonnen’s concerns for Khamzat Chimaev?