Khamzat Chimaev just can not stop pulling out of fights but to no fault of his own. It all started during the COVID-19 pandemic when he first contracted the virus. The UFC fighter fell violently ill, suffered a lung infection, and had a lot more complications during this period. After that, things haven’t been the same for the Russian fighter.
Most recently, he fell sick just days before his fight against Robert Whittaker at UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs. Chimaev. He had to be admitted to the hospital after claiming to be ‘violently ill‘ yet again.
Although neither Khamzat Chimaev nor his team have spoken about any autoimmune disease or long-term illness, it is what the fans think he is suffering from.
Up until now, apart from his bout with COVID-19, whenever he has fallen ill, it seemed to be some common illness like a cold or a lung infection.
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His team has not addressed why he keeps falling sick or any underlying factors behind it. All it does is make him look like an unreliable fighter to the fans who can never know if he will pull out of the fight or not.
There is one fighter who seems to have an explanation for this though. His teammate Alexander Gustafsson believes he knows the reason behind his illness.
Gustafsson decodes Chimaev’s health
Gustafsson has trained with Khamzat Chimaev regularly and he knows exactly what happens inside his training camps.
The Swedish fighter spoke out about ‘Borz’ constantly falling ill and asserted that there was a reason for it. He spoke about how easily the Russian fighter falls ill and said that that’s how his body reacts to training.
“The guy gets ill. There is something with his body. That reacts to hard training…. He very easily catches a cold, cough and runny nose….But I’ve seen him when he increases his training a lot. I know how his body reacts differently to the training.”
According to Gustafsson, the cause of his falling sick so often could be because of how hard he trains during his fight camps. When one pushes the body to its limits and it does not get enough rest, which the body needs to recover, it becomes susceptible to all manners of illness. Besides, the massive weight cuts don’t help either.
And according to the Swede, this is exactly what happens to Khamzat Chimaev. Now, there’s no way to know for sure since Chimaev hasn’t been officially tested by UFC doctors but hopefully, he keeps healthy and keeps fighting. Because there is a world champ in there, and fans would love to see him if he doesn’t suffer the same fate as the aliens from War of the Worlds.
