Khamzat Chimaev rocked the entire MMA world when he returned from sickness to fight Robert Whittaker and defeated him by literally crushing his jaw. The explosiveness that he carried with him was nothing short of phenomenal. Needless to say, ‘Borz’ showed the world how hard he’d trained and how fast he planned to rise up in the title game. 

Well, the Chechen Wolf had also disappointed the MMA realm by pulling out of several fights because of medical issues. But now, with another win added to his undefeated MMA career, talks about him taking over the middleweight division have begun to spread like wildfire. Today, let’s see what 2025 might hold for the #3 middleweight contender.

Can Khamzat Chimaev become the UFC MW Champ in 2025?

Chimaev was out of action for a pretty long time. This made his title run go a bit slower. But one thing is certain. Chimaev will definitely get to fight for the championship title soon. Currently, Dricus Du Plessis is set to defend his MW belt against Sean Strickland at UFC 312. The winner of the fight would apparently fight ‘Borz’. Of course, with such a dominant fighting style, it might be Chimaev who’d claim the win. 

Even Tom Aspinall was of a similar mind. Talking about who would be the champion by the end of 2025, the interim heavyweight champion said, “I’ve picked against Dricus so many times, and I’m not going to do it again. But I think to say that Khamzat Chimaev is not going to be a champion this time next year is just silly. So I’m going to say Khamzat.”

Despite being a former rival to Chimaev, Robert Whittaker also stood in support of ‘Borz’. During a recent episode of the MMArcade podcast, Whittaker said, “I saw a rumor that Chimaev might go up and fight Pereira. Imagine that. Chimaev (will win). Not easily, Chimaev, though. Unless the heavyweight strength changes the dynamic. Chimaev will get the takedown and it’s just that he’s good at what he does. He plays into his strengths.” Well, ‘The Reaper’ didn’t really dismiss the strength that ‘Poatan’ carried with him. If the hypothetical fight proceeded with the fighters on their feet, it would be Pereira who’d win. However, ‘Borz’ might quickly take matters to the ground and claim the win. 

Whatever the notion, we can certainly push Chimaev to become a champion. With his grappling-heavy fighting style, he can easily go through Sean Strickland. And if Dricus Du Plessis emerges victorious at UFC 312, defeating ‘Borz’ would be next to impossible for the current champion. DDP loves to move around the Octagon, which would give Chimaev multiple opportunities to take him down and force him to tap out. While seeing the Chechen Wolf as a champion in 2025 is something that everyone expects, there still lies a bit of uncertainty. Chimaev also has a history of disappointing the fight fans by pulling out of his fights. But would he continue to do so in 2025?

Will Khamzat Chimaev pull out from more fights?

‘Borz’s decline began when he contracted COVID-19 and had to pull out of a fight against Leon Edwards three times. Later, in 2022, his bout with Nate Diaz got canceled because he missed weight. Chimaev was forced to pull out of his match against Whittaker during UFC’s debut in Riyadh because he fell violently ill and had to be hospitalized. And the reason? It was all because he trained a bit too hard. His rigorous training sessions gave him little to no time to recover between sessions, and his body had to fight his mind to get some rest. 

With about 6 pullouts in his UFC career, the Chechen Wolf had become a liability for the fight promotion. But Chimaev has been working on making his training more practical. In an interview with Hustle Vlog, ‘Borz’ said, “I used to go to the gym and just train until I was done. But then I ended up in the hospital like the last time when I was in the hospital three times in a row within three weeks. My immune system went down; I got sick. Now, I use a better approach. I work with good coaches [who] raised a lot of world champions… I am going to take a big step forward.”

Come 2025, it’s highly unlikely that Chimaev would pull out of his fights anymore. He is already 30 years old and would lose his prime in the blink of an eye. To make sure he remains on the top and builds a legacy for himself, he needs to take care of his body, with ample amounts of rest between training sessions. 

What are your thoughts about Chimaev’s pullouts? Do you think he can become the middleweight champion in 2025? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.