Manager: Khamzat Chimaev Retirement Rumors 'Absolutely Not True'

While Khamzat Chimaev has not been especially active in recent years, the Chechen-born Swede has no plans of stepping away from mixed martial arts.

In a brief statement issued to MMAjunkie.com , Chimaev’s manager, Majdi Shammas, denied retirement rumors that have persisted since the middleweight withdrew from a headlining clash against Robert Whittaker at UFC on ABC 6 due to a severe illness.

“It’s absolutely not true,” Shammas said. “We’re planning on getting to the bottom of this situation, the problems. He will be back.”

Shammas painted a grave picture of Chimaev’s status in a separate post on social media over the weekend. However, he also stated in that post Chimaev’s UFC return would be “immediately rescheduled” once the fighter was healthy.

“The persistent illness that Khamzat has been battling for major parts of training camp could not be cured in time. He has been in and out of hospitals several times,” Shammas wrote on Instagram . “The condition has been kept within the team, since everyone has been absolutely committed to finding a solution. Although all available options have been thoroughly considered, it has now come to a point where the team has mutually agreed that it is not possible to carry on like this. Stepping into the cage not properly prepared against such a formidable opponent as Robert is unfortunately impossible.”

Chimaev began his UFC tenure as one of the hottest prospects in the sport, vanquishing his first four Octagon foes inside of a round in an approximately 13-month span. “Borz” has competed just three times since October 2021, however. His last bout was at UFC 294, where he earned a majority decision against Kamaru Usman this past October.

The undefeated Allstars Training Center representative broke his silence with a brief statement on social media Monday.

“We always plan something but Allah has his own plans for us,” Chimaev wrote. “Alhamdulilah.”

Ikram Aliskerov , a former Chimaev opponent, will step in and face Robert Whittaker in the new UFC on ABC 6 headliner at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudia Arabia on Saturday.