Joe Rogan is in awe of Khamzat Chimaev. The ethnic Chechen, of course, was perhaps the most hyped prospect in UFC history following his heroics in the ‘Fight Island’ days, which saw him not only fight three opponents within three months in under 10 minutes, but do so at two different weight classes. Not to mention he won a $50k bonus in all three fights.

While a majority decision victory over Kamaru Usman and his somewhat disappointing performance in that bout may have dampened his hype, ‘Borz’s persistent health issues have turned the fans against him. Many think that because he became a global superstar so quickly after coming to the UFC, the fame, and money have gone to his head. After all, just last year Dana White had admitted that after Conor McGregor, Chimaev was the fighter fans wanted to see in action the most.

Joe Rogan seemingly agrees with the fan opinions on this. Rogan still is seemingly hyped on Chimaev, defending ‘Borz’ on the UFC 305 Fight Companion show, he told his friends Brendan Schaub, Tony Hinchcliffe, and Brian Simpson “Bro he’s [Chimaev’s] legit, man.” But the Texas resident was quick to point out that Chimaev had almost made it a habit to pull out or turn down fights because of alleged health issues in the recent past.

“I mean how many fights has Khamzat had to pull out of? That [Chimaev fighting regularly] was before he got rich and famous. The problem is he’s like so revered in the Muslim world, you know, he’s got like that Chechnyan leader [Ramzan Kadyrov], loves him and you know he’s the f***ing man now. He’s driving to Mercedes, you know what I’m saying,” Joe Rogan added.

As things stand, Chimaev is reportedly not allowed to enter the United States due to his close relations with sanctioned Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, who even attended his wedding. The politician even gifted the fighter a Mercedes, which he crashed just months later. Back in 2o22, Chimaev was said to train Kadyrov’s two teenage sons.

Khamzat emigrated to the UAE last year as confirmed by his jiu-jitsu coach, Alan Nascimento. But his move was more poitical than personal. “[Chimaev] has a Russian passport. With this situation going on, the war, it’s hard for anyone to travel around the world with a Russian passport. Especially for a Chechen…anyone who knows the story and is following what’s going on in the world knows…He’s living that. That’s one of the reasons why he chose to leave Sweden. Like, ‘I fight for the country, I live there since I was a teenager and pay taxes, and I always apply for a citizenship, but never get it.’” 

Notably, the 30-year-old was born in Russia and migrated to Sweden when he was just 18. While he may be living the good life, now Chimaev needs to get serious. After all, ‘Borz’ is facing a huge challenge that would mean the difference between him fighting for the title or making his way up the division once again.

Khamzat Chimaev to face Robert Whittaker this October

Khamzat Chimaev was set to face former champion Robert Whittaker on the first-ever UFC card in Saudi Arabia two months ago. The winner of that fight could have expected to either see themselves fight for the title straightaway or face Sean Strickland in a number one title contender bout. However, in what has become somewhat of a theme, the Emirati citizen had to pull out of the clash because of a “violent” illness.

UFC CEO Dana White had also talked about the seeming difficulty in managing Chimaev’s career. “Lately it’s been hard to get him into the octagon. Every time he gets close to fighting, he gets really sick. I don’t know what to say. It’s not like he’s over here in this country and we’ve had doctors look at him or anything like that. He’s sort of out of touch, so, it’s tough to deal with,” he said in June, before announcing the fighter’s next bout.

Despite the withdrawal, Chimaev still finds himself firmly in the title picture. As per White’s August announcement, he is once again scheduled to face ‘The Reaper’, in Abu Dhabi on UFC 308 this October. With Whittaker having knocked out Chimaev’s replacement Ikram Aliskerov in Saudi, the Kiwi is now even higher in the title picture.

This, of course, means that if ‘Borz’ defeats ‘Reaper’, he will be, at most, one step from a title shot. In MMA, nothing turns around soured fan sentiment like a good win, and if Chimaev indeed gets a good win over Whittaker, he may get some of his old thunder and hype back. Do you think Chimaev will beat Robert Whittaker on UFC 308? Drop your predictions in the comments below.