Post UFC 294 Win, Khamzat Chimaev Reveals Potential Return Timeline and Update On His Injury and Surgery Operation

Khamzat Chimaev, 13-0 as a professional, earned his 6^th win in the UFC by defeating former world champion Kamaru Usman on October 21, 2023, to get closer to a title shot.

Having beaten the firmer 170-pounder Usman at 185 lbs, Chimaev hasn’t proven his worth against top-rated natural middleweights so far. Hence, grabbing the middleweight title shot can still demand more wins from ‘Borz’.

Meanwhile, Khamzat Chimaev will stay out of action for some time as he claims to have injured himself. Despite winning against Usman at UFC 294, Chimaev didn’t depart the octagon with his physique at 100%. Now that he has admitted to undergoing surgery, Khamzat Chimaev also revealed his intentions of fighting anybody next.

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On a IG Live session, ‘Borz’ said, “When somebody wants to fight, then we fight. Going to do surgery operation in one [to] two weeks. After that to be recovery (sic), come back, smash somebody. [I am] bored. Let’s go tell Dana White and make that happen.”

Khamzat Chimaev has been calling out various fighters in the meantime. From welterweight to light heavyweight, he has set his eyes everywhere. A few weeks back, the Chechen fighter expressed his interest in facing current UFC LHW champion Alex Pereira. Nevertheless, the light-heavyweight title sot is still miles away from Chimaev unless he proves himself at 205 lbs.

Also Read | Colby Covington Puts Major Accusation on Dustin Poirier and Khamzat Chimaev Before Fighting Leon Edwards in UFC 296

In Which Weight Class Should Khamzat Chimaev Fight Next?

Khamzat Chimaev is currently ranked 9^th in the UFC’s light heavyweight division, which verifies him to be a perfect opponent for Paulo Costa, Roman Dolidze, or Brendan Allen. While Costa and Chimaev have already shared a brief verbal banter, they can possibly lock horns inside the octagon soon.

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It will be an interesting fight. Moreover, Chimaev now looks likely to remain in the middleweight category. Upon coming down to the welterweight division (170 lbs), ‘Borz’ would still not have any deficit in finding suitable opponents. However, ideally the 185 lbs weight-category shall be his home for a brief period