Khamzat Chimaev burst onto the UFC scene with three wins in quick succession. He set a UFC record for the least time taken to secure three wins. However, since then, Chimaev has been extremely sporadic in his activity. A combination of problems both in his control and out of his control have meant that he has fought only four times in the last three years. In addition to that, his recent performances have cast doubts among fans about his ability to become a world champion. However, UFC veteran Jon Anik believes nothing has changed in his mind with regards to Chimaev.
In a recent episode of his podcast, Jon Anik and his guests discussed Chimaev’s inactivity. Kenny Florian started off by saying that despite having some close fights in his last two outings, he still believes Chimaev is UFC champion material. Jon Anik doubled down on this saying,
“And by the way those fights against Gilbert Burns and Kamaru Usman were both wins for Khamzat Chiamev, who is still undefeated. He is also a guy that got deathly ill from COVID-19, retired from MMA. He never makes excuses… He is an offensive fighter who is always trying to kill the opposition. I do believe Khamzat Chimaev is a future UFC champion. I don’t believe I have overrated him. I just want to see him in an active competitive cycle.”
Chimaev looked invincible in his first few fights in the UFC. However, in his fights against Burns and Usman, he was not able to steamroll them as he does with most opponents. This caused many fans to doubt his ability to win a world championship in the UFC. Anik and Florian, however, masterfully debunked that notion. Now, coming to Chimaev’s in-octagon activity, fans are wondering whether they will see ‘Borz’ make a comeback this year.
Khamzat Chimaev to fight in 2024?
It’s been three months into the new year and there have been no updates regarding Chimaev’s return to the UFC. ‘Borz’ last fought in October, 2023 where he secured a majority decision win against Kamaru Usman. Unfortunately, as things stand, it appears that Chimaev might be able to fight only once this year.
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Due to the ongoing war in Ukraine and his close ties to Ramzan Kadyrov, Chimaev is not allowed to enter the United States. This means that he will have to fight at the UFC’s annual PPV card in Abu Dhabi. It is unlikely that the UFC will get him to headline a normal fight night card outside the United States, as he is too big a name for that. Hopefully for UFC fans, Chimaev fights more than once this year. Unfortunately, that does not seem likely.
