‘I already have a contract’… Khamzat Chimaev provides an update on whether he will be fighting Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 312

Khamzat Chimaev finally returned to the UFC Octagon last October at UFC 308, where he earned the biggest win of his career to date.

Ahead of his first fight in over a year, Khamzat Chimaev pleased fans when he revealed he would be changing his training regimen to avoid further health complications.

'Borz' then scored a first-round submission over former Middleweight Champion, Robert Whittaker, crushing his jaw with a face crank.

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC

Doctors told Khamzat Chimaev that he would not fight again due to ongoing health problems

Despite being one of the most highly regarded players in MMA, Chimaev's career seemed over before it even got a chance to start when he briefly announced his retirement in 2021 due to ongoing health issues.

Since then, the 30-year-old has been involved in five more fight cancellations, not all of which were his fault, but he now seemingly has a firm grip on his health.

But while battling unknown health problems, Chimaev has now admitted that doctors told him he would never fight again.

'You get sick, and it's no secret to anyone: I got sick a lot. If you add them all up, I think I've had five or six surgeries, and seven or eight fractures,” Chimaev began explaining on The Hustle Podcast.

“I've broken down many times, doctors said 'You won't fight again', so far I'm proving that I will, and before the (Kamaru) Usman fight I didn't tell anyone either, I'm not the kind of person who likes to talk about such things.

“I had that problem, maybe my opponent also had some problems and what it was like to have a fever and everything we even considered there not to fight,” the Chechen continued.

Khamzat Chimaev will be at UFC 312 in Sydney

With his health complications under control, Chimaev is hopeful he can beat Sean Strickland and be picked as the next challenger for the middleweight title.

Current champion, Dricus Du Plessis, has admitted that he would rather fight 'Borz' than Strickland, but the promotion has yet to announce their decision.

'Stillknocks' revealed he was targeting UFC 312 for his next defense in February, but the plan appears to have changed. Chimaev revealed that he will be present at UFC 312, as he will be a guest fighter at the UFC meet and greets.

“At the moment there have been no offers, well I plan to go there (UFC 312). I already have a contract to hold a few meetings there, according to the contract I have to go there and do some work, meet with fans there, talk and communicate.

“I haven't talked to anyone about a fight, nothing of the sort and my plans are to recover,” Chimaev continued.

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