Ultimate Fighting Championship unable to offer him a fight by the end of the year.
The former UFC middleweight champion had originally targeted his return in October in Abu Dhabi. Chimaev now says he has reached a point where he can take time off from competition to address a number of lingering health issues.
Khamzat Chimaev says permanent injuries could force him to take a break from UFC competition
Speaking to Adam Zubayrev, Chimaev revealed that he may take a break if he doesn’t fight until the end of 2026 to deal with some nagging health issues. “Borz” does not want to compete with a compromise again, having done it many times before.
“If nothing happens in October or December, I think I’ll take a little break,” Chimaev said. “I have a lot of injuries that I need to heal. I’ve been postponing, postponing, postponing my surgeries and I go into every fight with some kind of problem. I don’t really like to talk about my problems or injuries. People already know that I get sick a lot. That’s just the way I am.”
Chimaev has been campaigning for a title shot and a rematch with the current champion Sean Stricklandbut together Nassourdine Imavov The Chechen is said to be the next challenger for the middleweight title if he wants to compete this year, he will have to fight a fellow contender at 185lbs.
