The world of mixed martial arts was indeed pretty excited to watch Khamzat Chimaev fight Robert Whittaker. However, the Chechen Wolf was forced to pull out of the bout with just a couple of weeks left to the fight. This was all because of Chimaev’s serious illness. Without a doubt, this left Dana White in a pretty tight spot to find a worthy opponent to face Whittaker. Even though the UFC CEO was able to save the main event for UFC Saudi Arabia, he apparently lost his faith in Chimaev. 

In an interview with Jim Rome, the UFC head honcho was visibly disappointed at ‘Borz’ pulling out of fights. And now, the former mixed martial artist and expert, Chael Sonnen, has revealed that Chimaev pulling out of fights has caused White to have hard feelings for him. 

UFC veteran claims Khamzat Chimaev compromised his chances of getting a title shot

‘The American Gangster’ recently took to his YouTube channel and on his talk show, ‘Bad Guy Inc’, revealed some details about the position that Chimaev is currently in. Previously, the ‘Borz’ impressed the fight fans as well as the UFC big guns with his performance against Kamaru Usman. The Swedish fighter accepted the fight in an 8-day notice period and yet defeated ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ at UFC 294. It put Chimaev higher up in the rankings, making him the number-one contender in the division. 

After defeating Usman, many believed that ‘Borz’ would finally get the chance to fight for the championship title. It would have been the case if he showed up to fight Whittaker and won. But since he had to withdraw, it put him in a really bad light. Sonnen said, “When you win a number one contenders match, comes with phone call to then offer you a world title match. Now, if you say no, and it doesn’t, please don’t go any further, doesn’t matter if it comes hook or crook, illness or injury, doesn’t make any difference, if you said no, that board and that slate is now wiped clean. And that’s a concept that every now and then will create hard feelings.”

‘The Bad Guy’ further explained that there was still a chance for Chimaev to try and get hold of the belt. For that, he would have to strive and prove his worth. And when the opportunity presents itself, he would have to accept. However, there was also a probability that Chimaev lost all credibility to fight for the title. Sonnen continued, “Every now and then the boys will go ‘Hey wait a minute, I was told and then the house has to explain to them that you are going to be given nothing except an opportunity. And you can say yes or no to it, and it may present itself again. But it also might not.”

Without a doubt, the UFC CEO previously proved Sonnen’s point right during a talk with Jim Rome. Let’s see what White had to say about the Chechen Wolf.

Dana White was disappointed at ‘Borz’

Dropping out of a fight on short notice undoubtedly creates pressure on the one who is at the top. With Chimaev’s inability to fight, White was the one who got trapped in trouble. Although there was a valid reason for his withdrawal, White was not pleased. 

While talking to Jim Rome, White revealed, “The problem is that we really don’t know [what’s going on]. Every time this guy gets close to a fight – I saw video footage of him violently ill on the ground, and he was hospitalized again.” The UFC CEO was unhappy because he wasn’t able to figure out what was wrong with the fighter’s health. But Chimaev being out of touch made everything pretty difficult. 

Nevertheless, Chimaev promised the fight fans that he would be back in action. But his dreams of getting a title shot might just not come true. What do you think of Sonnen’s explanation? Do you believe Chimaev can get a title shot after a couple of fights? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.