"They told him that he's got a suspicion for cancer" - Khamzat Chimaev's brother recalls the time 'Borz' almost retired from MMA

Khamzat Chimaev was ready to hang up his gloves back in 2021 after medical staff in Las Vegas suspected that he may have cancer.

In an interview with Smesh Bros, Chimaev’s brother, Artur, spoke on the whole situation (Quotes translated by Smesh Bros):

“Yeah, at the time he was in the [United] States because UFC told him to come over for treatment. There wasn’t anyone with him there. So they told him that he’s got a suspicion for cancer and after that he still went on training and felt sick and coughed blood. So he made this post while dealing with that news. It was stressful."

Chimaev posted an image of his coughed up blood on Instagram, which he later deleted. Readers can view a screenshot of the same in the embedded video below.

Fortunately, 'Borz' was offered medical help in Chechnya, where he was told that there was no cancer and that he suffered from COVID-19 complications. Artur Chimaev added:

“After he made that post, Ramzan Kadyrov told us to come to Chechnya for treatment and they got us a private jet back home. When we landed the treatment staff was already awaiting for us and they soon told us that there is no cancer, but some complications from Covid. They said he’s had pulmonary fibrosis and they treated it with inhalation therapy and it took two weeks to treat it.”

Watch the entire interview below (8:00 - Chimaev's Instagram post):

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Khamzat Chimaev predicts one minute knockout against Gilbert Burns

At the UFC 273 pre-fight press conference, Khamzat Chimaev predicted and promised to knock out Gilbert Burns in one minute. 'Borz' told the fans:

"Hey, I’m gonna smash that guy and knock him out one minute, I promise. He’s too little boy, scared boy.”

Chimaev also said that he is going to smash Burns' face on the ground or knock him out in the stand-up. He also stated that 'Durinho' isn’t a real Brazilian and that he can’t even speak Portuguese.

Watch the UFC 273 pre-fight press conference highlights below:

UFC 273 will take place on April 9 at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida. Alexander Volkanovski will defend his UFC featherweight title against former title challenger Chan Sung Jung in the main event.

Aljamain Sterling and Petr Yan are set to run it back in the co-main event, over a year after their first fight. This time, undisputed bantamweight gold is on the line. Additionally, in what is being dubbed 'the people's main event', Khamzat Chimaev and Gilbert Burns will lock horns in a highly intriguing welterweight bout.