Khamzat Chimaev explains why he changed his mind on retiring after COVID-19 scare

UFC sensation Khamzat Chimaev has explained how close he came to retirement after his bout with COVID-19.

For almost two years now Khamzat Chimaev has held the title of ‘hottest prospect’ in mixed martial arts. The Chechen warrior burst onto the scene with two wins in a 10-day span, cementing himself as one to watch at both welterweight and middleweight.

Now, with his focus shifting exclusively to 170 pounds for his first title run, there’s a sense of anticipation in the air as the masses wait to discover just how good ‘Borz’ really is.

However, a little over twelve months ago, the conversation surrounding Khamzat was quite different.

The 27-year-old suffered some notable complications following a battle with COVID-19 and in a moment of weakness, took to social media and declared that he wanted to retire from MMA.

Within a matter of days he went back on the sentiment and soon enough, he was back in the Octagon with a triumphant submission win over Li Jingliang to get the hype train up and running again.

In an interview with BT Sport, Chimaev discussed the motivating factor behind his U-turn.

“You can’t think about only MMA. You know, like, my family, how to watch them, how to put food on the table. If I die, I don’t know what’s gonna happen.

“[My] focus wasn’t in MMA and that’s why I said I’m gonna go out from the game. Then my brothers, when I go back to my home country, they help me, like, they bring a lot of good doctors and they help me. I’m thankful for that. My country said to me, ‘If we help you, you have to get back brother.’ I said, ‘Of course, if you make me healthy I go back and smash everyone.'”

In the defining fight of his UFC career thus far, Chimaev will take to the stage at UFC 273 for a blockbuster