UFC welterweight contender Khamzat Chimaev will be making his Octagon return in July/August following a 10-month layoff.
Khamzat Chimaev became a star during the Covid times when he fought back to back in a matter of 10 days against the likes of John Phillips and Rhys McKee and defeated them in a brutal fashion.
He then took on Gerald Meerschaert and knocked him out in just 17-seconds at UFC Fight Night 178 last September. Khamzat Chimaev was then scheduled to fight top welterweight contender Leon Edwards on December 19, but that fight got pushed back after the Briton contracted Covid-19.
The fight was then rescheduled for Jan 17 at Fight Island in Abu Dhabi. That fight was cancelled as this time around it was Khamzat Chimaev who contracted Covid-19. The fight with Leon Edwards was again rescheduled for March 14. This time around, Khamzat Chimaev announced that he won’t be competing against Leon Edwards following the lingering effects of Covid-19. Following this, Leon Edwards was booked against Belal Muhammad.
Khamzat Chimaev also announced his retirement during this period and was talked out of it by the leader of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov.
When will Khamzat Chimaev return?
Ali Abdelaziz, who manages Khamzat Chimaev has given a timeline for the return of the wolf. Speaking to MMAJunkie, Ali stated that Chimaev was doing fine after contracting the virus and is now spending his time in the gym awaiting his octagon return.
“He had a procedure,” Abdelaziz told MMA Junkie. “Actually, his first day of training was three days ago. He’s coming back with a vengeance, man. He has so much to prove. He was the guy main-eventing. Guess what? COVID rules the world right now, and COVID got him. You see Alexander (Volkanovski), the (UFC) featherweight champion. I hope he’s OK. He had some problems with it. Khamzat had some problems with it. Now he’s 100 percent healthy. He’s back training this week or last week.”
“We’ll see him at the end of July (or) August,” Abdelaziz said. “Even Dana (White) was asking me the other day. I told him the end of July or August he’ll fight. I told Sean (Shelby), too. Realistically, I think it’s time to slow it down a little bit, but I think he’s going to make a (bigger) statement on the comeback. He’s going to keep climbing. He’s a special talent. He’s a superstar, I believe, in the making. All of us will see. Everyone who understands MMA will understand what Khamzat brings. It is what it is, and we have to move on. Sickness can’t control that.”
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