Khamzat Chimaev made his name thanks to his willingness to have a quick turn around. In 2020 he competed thrice. But since then he’s been averaging 1.5 outing per year and the UFC fans are antsy.
Chimaev has been wanting to cash in on his fanbase and use it to skip the line for the belt. With Welterweight locked up due to Covington’s legal pursuits and Usman and Edwards’ rematch, he’s turned his eye towards Middleweight.
Middleweight has an interesting gap with two top level kickboxers on top of the division. This made Chimaev likely to face against ‘good guy’ Robert Whittaker. But nothing has been agreed upon and Whittaker claimed there’s no official offer in lead up to UFC 284.
And Chechen native, Chimaev, is about to start his fast. Ramadan will last from March 22nd until April 21st of this year. Due to the restrictions tied to fasting, many of Islamic MMA pros do not compete during this time. Typical MMA camp last between 6 to 10 weeks meaning Chimaev is unlikely to return until next summer.
Chimaev is no different. He cautioned the fans on his social media saying:
One thing commenters noticed about his post is that a Swedish emblem is noticable in the picture. Chimaev immigrated to Sweden from Chechenya years ago in a pursuit for a better life.
This is very interesting considering that Sweden has had a radical politican burn the Quran recently, causing great upheaval. The fact that Chimaev still represents Sweden on his social media afterwards rubbed some fans the wrong way.
Another interesting point is the fact Chimaev condemned Jiri Procazhka for his Samurai schtick recently claiming he’d prefer to learn about the history of his own people and traditions. No word yet if he meant the Swedes.