BREAKING: Khamzat Chimaev announces return timeline
Khamzat Chimaev has been out of action since September 2022 despite his eagerness to return to the octagon. However, 'Borz' recently announced the timeline for his return, without revealing the exact date.
The Chechen-born Swede contender stated that he will return after the holy month of Ramadan, observed by Muslims around the world as a period of fasting, prayer and reflection. Chimaev wrote in a recent Instagram post:
“We’ll be back after Ramadan Insha’Allah ☝🏼”
The month of dawn-to-sunset fasting of Ramdan begins on the evening of March 22 and ends with the festival of Eid-al-Fitr on the evening of April 22.
A devout Muslim, Khamzat Chimaev raised his voice when far-right Swedish politician Rasmus Paludan publicly burnt the Quran earlier this year. Referring to the incident, a fan criticized 'Borz' for sporting the Swedish flag in his latest post. @serhatdagdelen wrote:
"You still wearing that christian flag? Even after they burned quran??"
Meanwhile, another fan took a dig at Chimaev's long absence from the octagon as 'Borz' was known for quick turnarounds until recently. @mclovin1103 wrote:
"Go from fighting 4x in 2 months and now once a year……"
Potential opponents for Khamzat Chimaev's next fight?
Khamzat Chimaev hasn't fought since a lopsided submission win over Kevin Holland at UFC 279. The card was reshuffled at the last minute due to 'Borz' missing the welterweight limit by 7.5 lbs.
Chimaev has since targeted multiple opponents, majorly focusing on the middleweight division. The Chechen-born Swede went back-on-forth with Paulo Costa on social media with no eventual outcome and issued multiple callouts to Colby Covington, who has largely been missing from the whole picture.
Khamzat Chimaev most recently called out former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker on social media.
Prior to his Instagram callout, Chimaev stated in an interview that he would like to face Whittaker next and also accused Costa of ducking him. 'Borz' told Red Corner MMA:
“I think I will fight Robert Whittaker. He’s got no opponent. Paulo Costa ran away after talking that much about me and Robert. So, I will fight Whittaker. I want this fight although I like him as a human being. He is a solid guy, doesn’t talk trash, doesn’t cross any lines. We are going to have fun at the press conference and fight each other.”
Catch Chimaev's comments below:
Coming off a decision win over Marvin Vettori, Whittaker has also expressed interest in a clash against Chimaev.