After his latest health scare, former UFC champion Demetrious Johnson believes Khamzat Chimaev’s career may unfortunately turn out similarly to formerly touted champion, Zabit Magomedsharipov’s.
Khamzat Chimaev was scheduled to take on former middleweight champion, Robert Whittaker, in the UFC Saudi Arabia main event this coming Saturday, but he withdrew a few days ago due to ongoing health issues.
The 30-year-old has been scheduled to main event in the UFC on five separate occasions, but each time the fight has fallen through.
Demetrious Johnson fears Chimaev’s career will turn out like Zabit Magomedsharipov’s
Zabit Magomedsharipov emerged onto the UFC scene back in 2017, instantly capturing the attention of the fans because of his supremely well-rounded fight style.
After several exciting displays, the Russian was quickly regarded as a future champion by many respected personalities in the sport.
Although the 33-year-old never withdrew from a fight during his UFC tenure, he continuously ran into health issues which ultimately led to him announcing his retirement from MMA back in 2020. After going through his own health complications, Zabit became a doctor following his short MMA career.
Former UFC champion, Demetrious Johnson, believes that Khamzat Chimaev’s career could potentially turn out similarly to Magomedsharipov’s, because of his ongoing health issues.
“Khamzat reminds me of an athlete who competed in this UFC, his name is Zabit (Magomedsharipov),” the former UFC champion explained on the recent episode of The MightyCast.
“Now when I look at Khamzat, I’m not saying Khamzat is going to retire but I would not be surprised if (he) were to retire because each time this guy gets ready for a fight, each time he ends up in the hospital,” Johnson added.
- LOSING AURA: Khamzat Chimaev warned he is ‘losing his aura’ by rival star after pulling out of UFC Saudi Arabia main event
‘Mightymouse’ predicted that we will either see ‘Borz’ rectify his ongoing issues, or we will see him retire from the sport in the not-so-distant future.
“I think this one-of-a-kind athlete (Chimaev), I think we might see him maybe two or three more years and I think he’s going to ride off into the sunset and look to do something else with his life and his career.
“With Khamzat always having issues with his cardio, I’m telling you man, I’m pretty sure there’s an underlying health issue that he hasn’t figured out what it is yet. I’m sure (if he does figure it out) he’s going to become a better athlete or we’re going to see him retire. The writing is on the wall,” DJ added.
Khamzat Chimaev’s team shut down food poisoning rumor
With the MMA world discussing Chimaev’s withdrawal, rumors began to circulate that the Chechen wrestler was hospitalized due to food poisoning.
However, ‘Borz’s’ teammate, Tam Khan, has taken to social media to shut down the rumors, revealing that it is something more serious.
“All these fake rumors about Khamzat Chimaev pulling out due to food poisoning are absolutely bulls***. I was part of the camp and behind the scenes. As a brother I won’t share his dark times but trust me when I say, he was very sick and hospitalized,” Khan said on X.
The last time the 30-year-old stepped into the Octagon, was back at UFC 294 in October, when he narrowly beat Kamaru Usman. After suffering yet another health scare, the number 11-ranked middleweight took to Instagram to share his brief thoughts.
“We always plan something but Allah has his own plans for us,” Chimaev wrote.
- TOUGH DEALINGS: Dana White reacts to Khamzat Chimaev’s ongoing medical issues following UFC Saudi withdrawal