The fight between Khamzat Chimaev and Robert Whittaker for the UFC in Saudi Arabia captured all eyes. It was worthy of being in the top positions of any numbered event. Unfortunately, the illusion vanished when the Chechen pulled out of the fight. Chimaev was hospitalized and was replaced by Ikram Aliskerov. However, the New Zealander still beat the Russian despite the short notice. Something that made Chimaev want to clarify the fact that he still wanted that fight.

But it seems like now he will have to work harder than ever. Since according to Whittaker, he truly has the upper hand. While Chimaev was out resting, the New Zealander believes he got the upper hand by getting more time to train and a match to further hone his skills, something that might prove beneficial in his next.

In an interview with the Mainevent YouTube channel, Whittaker revealed why he believes that he would be better than ever against the undefeated Borz. He said, “I think, like skill set, I’m ahead of the curve, you know. I think there’s a lot of things I worked on that maybe weren’t as… like there were a lot of things I worked on last camp that I’ve gotten even better at performing this camp. You know I’ve gotten; yeah, I’m just better for it.”

After Borz pulled out, against the clock, the UFC had to find a replacement for Whittaker. And Aliskerov was the chosen one. The Russian, who is not ranked at middleweight, did what he could. But Whittaker still knocked him out in the very first round. While things worked out for Whittaker, due to his absence, Chimaev has dropped one place in the rankings to eleventh.

Not only that, there had also been rumors around Chimaev deciding to hang up his gloves due to his health complications. A decision that truly would bring an undefeated career to an unfortunate end. So is Borz actually going to retire, or was it just a hoax?

The update on Chimaev’s retirement

After many health problems and fight-loss falls, there has been a lot of questioning about whether the Chechen will continue to fight or if he will hang up his gloves for good. However, his Majdi Shammas silenced all rumors. He revealed that Borz indeed would not be hanging up his boots anytime soon. As he said, “Khamzat is not going to finish his career.” Since 2022, Chimaev’s health has been an obstacle for him to get into the cage on a recurring basis.

He contracted COVID-19 when he was one of the company’s rising stars, and it left him with significant sequelae. His team came to fear for his life. Although he decided to continue, the health problems continued. He suffered from a serious skin infection. And a few months ago he shared some images, which he later deleted, in which he was seen in a hospital seriously ill. But for now, it looks like Borz will continue to step into the cage and remains one of the UFC’s promises. So what do you think? Will he be able to continue his great run in the promotion? Let us know in the comments.