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Hey, my guys and ghouls! For our first injury report of 2024 (I hope the first five days have treated you well so far), we check in with UFC fighter Khamzat Chimaev, who shared a series of seriously concerning photos. Then, we go through all the changes with the first few UFC events of the year.
Ready? Enjoy!
Checkin’ In with Chimaev
Khamzat Chimaev (hand, illness)
In the first edition of the Injury Report, I had Khamzat Chimaev in the ‘Sittin’ on the Sidelines’ category because he shared that he was undergoing surgery on the hand he injured during his fight with Kamaru Usman. Now, the win against the former UFC champion was enough to give Chimaev his first championship opportunity, which would have come against Sean Strickland. However, the promotion went in a different direction, scheduling Strickland vs. Dricus Du Plessis instead.
Why? When UFC CEO Dana White confirmed on the Pat McAfee Show this past October that the winner of Chimaev vs. Usman would receive a fight with Strickland next, he did so with this caveat: ‘barring injuries and other things that can possibly happen’. Well, injuries and other things indeed happened. Aside from his hand, Chimaev recently revealed that he also dealt with some sort of sickness that slowed his return to the Octagon.
“I was very sick, my hand was injured, so I couldn’t return right away,” posted Chimaev in a since-deleted post on X (H/T MMA Mania). “I want to tell all the fountains, I want to see myself in battle more than all of you, I love this job, I will do and prove that I am the best, as always we do, and I will be back soon to Insha’Allal training.”
After that post, Chimaev shared a video of himself, saying he was ‘feeling good’ and gearing up for his return, so whatever he was dealing with is in the rearview. The goal for ‘Borz’ now is to get a fight scheduled, setting his sights on the mega pay-per-view event that is UFC 300 in April. Should Strickland successfully defend against Du Plessis in January, perhaps the UFC can revisit Strickland vs. Chimaev.
UFChanges
Bassil Hafez, Ketlen Vieira and Gabriel Santos (unspecified)
After nearly a month-long hiatus due to the holidays, the UFC returns next Saturday with UFC Fight Night: Ankalaev vs. Walker II, which has already undergone a few changes. The promotion announced that due to injury, Bassil Hafez, Ketlen Vieira and Gabriel Santos were removed from their respective fights. Since the announcement, none of the fighters have revealed their injuries, but we have their replacements.
In for Hafez is Matthew Semeslberger, who now shares the Octagon with Preston Parsons. In his most recent appearances, Semeslberger has suffered losses to Jeremiah Wells and Uros Medic at UFC Fight Night: Pavlovich vs. Blaydes and UFC 291, respectively. No replacement was found for Vieira, so her fight with Macy Chiasson was canceled. And finally, Gabriel Santos was replaced by recent Contender Series signee Jean Silva, who hopes to get his first UFC win against Westin Wilson.
With these changes, UFC Fight Night: Ankalaev vs. Walker II moves forward with 12 fights.
Carlos Ulberg (unspecified)
The ‘Black Jag’ has hit a snag ahead of his next UFC appearance against Dominick Reyes. This past Saturday, Reyes revealed that his fight with Carlos Ulberg at UFC 297 was canceled due to an unspecified Ulberg injury. In an Instagram Story (H/T Spinnin Backfist), Reyes appeared to question whether Ulberg was truly injured, which earned a fiery response from the New Zealander.
“[Dominick Reyes] Relax buddy, you’re not about “that life,” posted Ulberg on X. “Rest well!”
Hopefully, Ulberg and Reyes are indeed well-rested because their fight is reportedly getting rescheduled for UFC Atlantic City. Steven Marrocco of MMA Fighting was the first to report the change.
Sittin’ on the Sidelines
Stephen Thompson (foot)
We have an official answer from Stephen Thompson on whether or not he suffered a broken foot in his loss to Shavkat Rakhmonov.
Shortly after UFC 296, ‘Wonderboy’ uploaded a video to his official YouTube channel where he discussed training while dealing with an injury. At the time, Thompson thought he had a broken foot after getting Rakhmonov with a ‘good body kick right to the elbow’. Spoiler alert: he has a broken foot.
“First off, it is official: I definitely broke two bones in my foot,” said Thompson in a recent video. “I will be out for a little bit of the kicking and the punching.”
No word yet on when he expects to return, but Thompson has assured fans that they will see a ‘better Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson’ when he does.
WTF Happened?!
I thought we could end with some injuries that were too wild not to include here.
Joao Miyao (knee)
Anyone who tries to tap Joao Miyao with a leg lock may find it extremely difficult. Allow Dr. Mike Piekarski to explain.
This Muay Thai fighter (arm)
What a spin.