Khamzat Chimaev made his explosive Middleweight debut against former UFC champion Kamaru Usman. Initially, he was supposed to fight Paulo Costa, but the Brazilian had to withdraw due to a serious injury. Furthermore, ‘Borz’ was able to defeat Usman in a hard-fought match via majority decision. However, Chimaev recently revealed very bad news, which can put his title run on hold.
Chimaev went live on Instagram and informed his fans that he would be undergoing yet another surgery after his most recent fight at UFC 294. “Another surgery, operation (in) one-two weeks after that to recovery, come back and smesh somebody,” said Khamzat.
This surgery could be related to his hand injury during UFC 294. According to his manager, Majdi Shammas, he did not break his hand, but he did suffer a torn ligament. After the fight, Majdi claimed that Chimaev would be wearing a brace for four weeks before the injury was reassessed. However, at that time, he claimed that Khmazat Chimaev wouldn’t require surgery.
The good part is that it won’t take months off Chimaev’s career since he claimed that it would take a week or two. Furthermore, he even went on to talk about his next match. When a fan asked him about who he would fight next, he had a solid response. “When somebody wants to fight, then we fight,” said Khamzat Chimaev.
Khamzat Chimaev wants to fight at UFC 300
UFC 300 will definitely be a huge fight card for the UFC. Dana White would be saving some of his best fighters for the highly anticipated event. During his Instagram live session, Khamzat Chimaev expressed his interest in being a part of UFC 300.
MMA journalist Nina Marie Daniele, aka Nina Drama, went on to propose a UFC 300 appearance for Chimaev while commenting on his Instagram Live. “UFC 300! Let’s go Borz!” commented Nina and Khamzat went on to respond to Nina.
Sean Strickland contre Khamzat Chimaev #UFC300 🤔#Boxing_Mma74 #UFC300 pic.twitter.com/83VzC0UkYI
— Boxing_Mma 74 (@DarlyMungo95043) November 27, 2023
“Let’s go, tell Dana White, make that happen,” said Chimaev. The No. 9-ranked Middleweight has made his intentions quite clear about UFC 300. The fans will have to wait and see if Dana White responds to this particular request.
Furthermore, when it comes to potential opponents, there are multiple options for ‘Borz’ in the Middleweight division. One option could be a direct championship fight against Sean Strickland, but Khamzat would have to beat a top Middleweight to be eligible for the belt. The most interesting option for Khamzat Chimaev would be a match against Paulo Costa. Since these two Middleweights were supposed to fight at UFC 294, Costa had to withdraw due to a gruesome elbow injury.
Brendan Allen calls “bullsh*t” on Khamzat Chimaev’s ranking.
“He hasn’t beaten an ’85er, especially a ranked ’85.” pic.twitter.com/fucebmfTmj
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) November 16, 2023
Given the bad blood between the two fighters, it will not only be a great match, but the press conference will be epic. Another option for Chimaev would be the No. 8-ranked Brendan Allen. The American fighter is coming off an impressive submission victory over Paul Craig.
“I think I broke my hand.”
🐺 @KChimaev is really built different. #UFC294 pic.twitter.com/bwsjEv4EOn
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) October 21, 2023
Furthermore, during the UFC Vegas 82 post-fight conference, Allen questioned Khamzat’s ranking in the Middleweight division. “It’s bullsh*t…He hasn’t beaten an 85’er, especially a ranked 85’er,” said Allen. It will be interesting to see this match, but from a business point of view, this might not be that appealing to Dana.
Hopefully, fans will get an interesting opponent for Khamzat if he fights on the UFC 300 card. Till then, we wish him all the best for his surgery.