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Khamzat Chimaev was once almost forced to retire from MMA after a seemingly false "cancer" diagnosis.
Chimaev is widely considered to be one of the biggest stars in the UFC right now. After making his promotional debut back in July 2020, 'Borz' competed two more times in the same year. However, what unfolded next was rather unexpected and nearly brought an end to his career.
In March 2021, Chimaev announced that he was retiring from the sport after brief COVID-19 complications. While speaking about the same during an appearance on the Full Send Podcast in October 2023, Khamzat Chimaev revealed that a doctor had wrongly diagnosed him for having cancer, and as a result, he announced his retirement. He said:
"That time was hard man. It’s not the same man. You know that one time I said, the doctor said to me coming down, that 'You have a cancer', man. That’s why I said I was retired, I didn’t know what to say to my family. I didn’t know what to say to the people."
He added:
"Then we check again, the other doctor said, 'No, you don’t have cancer', [but I’m] still coughing up blood… Still, once if a doctor said something to you, it’s in your head. You still go home, and you’re coughing up blood and sh*t. [It’s like], I’m finished man." [h/t BJPenn.com]"
Check out Khamzat Chimaev's comments below (from 38:40):
Paulo Costa still wants to face Khamzat Chimaev
Paulo Costa and Khamzat Chimaev were scheduled to lock horns at UFC 294 last year. However, Costa was forced to withdraw from the fight because of a serious staph infection. As a result, Kamaru Usman stepped in on short notice to take on Chimaev.
Despite now being scheduled to fight Robert Whittaker at UFC 298, Costa is still eager to take on 'Borz' inside the octagon. On his personal X account @BorrachinhaMMA, the Brazilian had this to say last month:
"I have been persistently telling the UFC to reschedule this fight for UFC Saudi Arabia, I can’t see a best main event of 5 rounds for it right now cause it make sense in Middle East. I would love beat his as* over there but it looks like gourmet chenchen doesn't want that smoke."
