Chimaev warns UFC he will take injury break if no fight booked by December

Khamzat Chimaev has issued the UFC an ultimatum: find him a fight before December or he will take time off to address a backlog of injuries, including surgeries he says he has been postponing for years.

The former middleweight contender suffered the first defeat of his MMA career in May, losing a split decision to Sean Strickland in a title fight at UFC 328. Since then, Chimaev has been unable to secure a return bout, having initially pushed for an immediate rematch before conceding that Nassourdine Imavov appears to be next in line for Strickland.

“I was trying to get one in October, and now I’m trying for December,” Chimaev told Adam Zubayrev. “If nothing happens in December, I think I’ll take a little break. I have a lot of injuries. I need to get them treated. I’ve been putting off my surgeries, putting them off, putting them off, and I go into every fight with some kind of problem.”

Chimaev also offered a rare glimpse into the physical toll his career has taken, disclosing that he has undergone six surgeries and been placed under anaesthesia seven times, while also managing a thyroid condition. “I don’t have half my thyroid gland,” he said. “I don’t really like talking about my problems or injuries. People already know that I get sick often. That’s just how it is with me.”

Despite stepping back from his rematch push, Chimaev made clear his ambitions remain unchanged. He told the UFC he was not requesting a title fight immediately — only an opponent who would allow him to earn and rebuild his path to the belt. “I said, ‘Give me someone to fight. Let me make some money and get my belt back as soon as possible,’” he said. “As soon as I said that, they gave Imavov a fight.”

On the prospect of Imavov challenging Strickland, Chimaev was cautiously optimistic about his fellow contender’s chances. “Technically I think Imavov is much better than him,” he said. “If he’s feeling good cardio-wise and has improved his striking since their last fight, he can out-strike him.”

Chimaev also admitted he has replayed his own defeat repeatedly. “I replayed the fight in my head a thousand times,” he said. “Before the fight, I couldn’t even imagine him beating me.”