‘Surgery Operation’- Khamzat Chimaev Reveals Potential Timeline for UFC Return While Addressing Current Injury Situation

Khamzat Chimaev was supposed to fight for the middleweight title after UFC 294. After former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman replaced Paulo Costa—who was originally supposed to fight ‘Borz’ at UFC 294—on short notice, Dana White confirmed that the winner of Chimaev-Usman would get a shot at the middleweight title next.

However, an injury the Chechen sustained during his bout has meant that champion Sean Strickland will defend his title for the first time against Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 297 in January next year. Chimaev went live on Instagram recently and shared his health updates with fans.

Khamzat Chimaev talks about his future plans

A fan asked Khamzat Chimaev when he would be back in the octagon during the Instagram live session. ‘Borz’ said that he would be undergoing surgery in the next one or two weeks, followed by rest and rehabilitation, only after which he would be back in action.

“When somebody wants to fight, then we fight. Going to do surgery operation in one [to] two weeks. After that to be recovery (sic), come back, smash somebody. [I am] bored. Let’s go. Tell Dana White and make that happen,” he said.

The surgery he is talking about is probably related to the injuries he sustained during his UFC 294 majority decision win over Kamaru Usman in October. After a dominant first round, where ‘Borz’ took the lead and out-grappled Usman, the second and third rounds did not go his way, with him seeming outclassed by Usman’s striking. However, Chimaev was able to eke through a victory on the judges’ scorecards nonetheless.

After the fight, ‘Borz’ had spoken about breaking his hand during that first round, which was the reason he could not continue his momentum into the latter rounds. And it is only after fully healing from the injury that he will be back. Chimaev did not give a timeline for exactly how long he might be out. However, Chimaev’s recent tweets indicated that he might not even want to fight for the middleweight title.

Read More: Leon Edwards Should Not Go for UFC MW Title Just Yet After Colby Covington Fight at UFC 296

Chimaev calls out light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira

Former middleweight champion Alex Pereira defeated former light heavyweight champion Jiri Prochazka at UFC 295 to capture the vacant light heavyweight title last month. Shortly after, Chimaev took to Twitter and asked ‘Poatan’ to fight him for the title. “@danawhite let me finish him” he tweeted in November.

If nothing else goes awry, UFC fans will probably see Chimaev fight for the title probably in mid or late 2024 after he recovers from the injury as he is still officially the no. 1 title contender for the middleweight title. What do you think about Chimaev’s callout of Pereira? Let us know in the comments section below.

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