Unbeaten mixed martial arts star Khamzat Chimaev has not fought since his first round victory over Kevin Holland in September 2022.
Chimaev, 12-0, has only fought once for the UFC in 2021 and then twice last year.
He speaks with veteran MMA journalist Aaron BronsterUFC President Dana White said it’s not because the UFC is lacking trying to cause the 29-year-old Russian’s inactivity.
Dana White with an update on Khamzat Chimaev.
20 minutes with Dana White: https://t.co/6lu9JeHIwO pic.twitter.com/Gvc2pNcn19
– Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) May 6, 2023
The problems are not the quality of the opponents presented, or the complexities of a visa that would prevent Chimaev from fighting in the United States. Instead, they are personal issues that White did not disclose.
“That though. He has things going on in his personal life,” White said. “You know how it goes here, I talk about this all the time, we have to make guys three fights a year. If we don’t get guys three fights a year, we have to pay them. The only way that wouldn’t happen is if they had personal stuff going on.”
Although there is no set date for Chimaev’s return, there have been discussions of him moving up to middleweight permanently after issues downgrading to welterweight.
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