Khamzat Chimaev Says He’s Back to “Smash Everybody”

After saying that he was “done” earlier this month, UFC prospect Khamzat Chimaev is making a sudden U-turn by announcing that he’s returning to “smash everybody”.

Surprise surprise I’m coming back to smash everybody 😁 pic.twitter.com/2oOFJ1N4CN

— Khamzat Chimaev (@KChimaev) March 23, 2021

Chimaev was forced to withdraw from a fight against Leon Edwards due to the lingering effects of the virus. The best UFC betting sites had booked him as the odds on favorite to beat Edwards, but that bout never happened. Instead of recovering from the illness, Chimaev announced a sudden retirement that caught the MMA world by surprise.

Sudden Retirement

Chimaev took the UFC by storm last year, winning two fights at Fight Island in a span of 10 days, and setting the record for shortest turnaround time between victories in the modern era. Then he won a third fight within two months of his first win, which was made more impressive because all three bouts were not fought successively in the same weight class.

That run put him in the UFC welterweight rankings and a booking against a top welterweight in Edwards. However, that bout was not mean to be as it was moved back twice due to virus infections, first from Edwards, then from Chimaev. But while Edwards recovered quickly from the virus, Chimaev suffered its effects long after his infection. That forced the bout to be canceled after the third booking.

Borz would get frustrated and at the start of the month, he made an announcement that made it look like he was retiring. But Chechen dictator Ramzan Kadyrov stepped in and said that he was taking Chimaev back to his country to rehabilitate and train. Less than a month after the Russian Warlord said that Chimaev “will fight to the end”, the Wolf is back.

Plotting in the Mountains

According to Chimaev’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz, the Chechen Wolf has been plotting in the mountains for a summer return. Abdelaziz says that he would prefer if Chimaev fights Neil Magny or Kevin Holland, as either would provide a good test for Khamzat’s comeback.

It can be recalled that before Chimaev made his announcement to “retire’ he was calling for a June bout with Magny. These two have been going back and forth in social media since last year. Magny called out Chimaev in October and the Wolf agreed to “rock n’ roll” with the Brooklyn native. However, Chimaev ended up getting booked against Edwards and Magny went on to lose to Michael Chiesa last January.

Holland is coming off a defeat at the hands of Derek Brunson. That defeat came after Holland went undefeated in five consecutive bouts at the APEX Facility last year. After the loss, Holland said he was eyeing to move down to welterweight and broached about fighting Belal Muhamad. Trail Blazer also called out Chimaev last year.