“Some whispers about that. If he wins the belt, he retires. I’m not sure of that. I don’t know if I believe it or not, but it’s an option. There’s too much pressure on him…” Caio Borralho stirred up the fighting community when he claimed that Khamzat Chimaev would retire after defeating Dricus Du Plessis and winning the middleweight belt. The Fighting Nerds star did double down on the fact that these are just rumors. But Chael Sonnen seems to look at it as a fact.
Borralho’s concern was with the Chechen Wolf’s repeated failing health and “a lot of pressure from his country.” ‘Borz’ fought eight times in the UFC and had his fights cancelled on six different occasions. Four of these cancellations came because of his medical issues. The latest cancellation was at UFC Riyadh, when Chimaev had to be hospitalized just a couple of days before the bout against Robert Whittaker. And since ‘Borz’ has amassed a respectable amount of money, retirement wouldn’t really hurt him financially.
Now, Chael Sonnen weighed in on his YouTube channel, and said, “I’m being told, I’m hearing… that if he wins, he’ll take the belt and go home. And it’s not completely unfathomable.” According to him, ‘Borz’ has a similar mindset to that of Khabib Nurmagomedov and his team. ‘The Bad Guy’ continued, “Like, there are guys, Khabib and his entire team, for example, that are not fighting for the fame or money. They, genuinely in their hearts, don’t care about the frame or the money. And Chimaev comes from that same walk. So, when Caio says there’s a rumor that he might not fight, okay, great.”
But what if Du Plessis manages to defeat ‘Borz’ at UFC 319? According to Sonnen, the path to retirement is unavoidable for Chimaev if the reasons listed by Borralho turn out to be true. ‘The American Gangster’ highlighted Chimaev’s mindset, claiming that being a champion is very important to the Chechen star. He said, “Being champion is so important to you that if you get the belt, you’re done. Mission accomplished. There’s nothing else to do.”
But if he loses, ‘Borz’ would have to go through the trouble of getting another title shot. Sonnen claimed that Chimaev wouldn’t exactly like the idea of going back to the bottom of the deck. He continued, “So, if the rumor is true that Chimaev plans to retire with a victory, which very much surprised me, but I’ll just tell you, if that’s true, if that is his mindset, then I’m confident in telling you, that he’d certainly retire without a victory.”
MMA: UFC 273, Apr 9, 2022 Jacksonville, Florida, USA Khamzat Chimaev blue gloves after a fight against Gilbert Burns red gloves during UFC 273 at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Yeazell-USA TODAY Sports, 09.04.2022 23:56:37, 18059807, NPStrans, VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena, Gilbert Burns, MMA, TopPic PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xDavidxYeazellx 18059807
This isn’t the first time rumors about Chimaev’s retirement have run through the internet. Back when he was forced to cancel three back-to-back fights against Leon Edwards, Khamzat Chimaev hinted at his retirement. And now, John McCarthy has pointed out why.
Former referee weighs in on Khamzat Chimaev’s plan on retirement after COVID-19 infection
Khamzat Chimaev announced his apparent retirement three weeks after he pulled out from UFC Vegas 21. He wrote, “Thank you all so much for supporting me in my journey in this sport. I think I’m done. It’s not the most important victory in this life. It may upset you, but my heart and body tell me everything.” Thankfully, Dana White intervened and convinced him to return to fighting. But Chimaev’s troubles after battling the virus were pretty clear.
On episode #656 of the Weighing In podcast, ‘Big’ John McCarthy said, “I have seen him never get past the second round but I have seen him in the UFC and it’s not his fault.” He claimed that the complications post-infections forced him to opt for retirement. “And you know he has had issues with the ability to maintain a cardiovascular base, he tends to just burn out. He burns out. And he can’t get it back,” McCarthy said.
After battling Coronavirus, Chimaev fought Li Jiangliang and defeated him with an RNC in the first round. His battles against Kevin Holland and ‘The Reaper’ also ended within the first round. But when he fought Gilbert Burns and Kamaru Usman, ‘Borz’ had to go on for the entirety of 15 minutes — and visibly looked human. Now, the question is – can he manage to go on for all five rounds against the South African champion?
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