UFC Middleweight contender Khamzat Chimaev will be out of action for the next few months. “Borz” has to have surgery to repair a ligament in his right hand. He suffered the injury in his UFC 294 majority decision win over Kamaru Usman.
Chimaev gave an update on his situation during a recent Instagram Live (h/t MMA Crazy). “I’m going to do a surgery, operation in one, two weeks,” Chimaev said. “After that, do the recovery, come back, smash somebody.”
Chimaev was originally slated to face Paulo Costa at UFC 294, but Costa was forced out of the bout due to having surgery just weeks before the event due to a staph infection. Former welterweight champion Usman stepped in on late notice and UFC President Dana White elevated the bout to a top contenders match.
Chimaev’s surgery bumped him out of a title fight with champion Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis now faces Strickland at UFC 297 on Jan. 20 at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. Du Plessis earned the title shot by knocking out former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker at UFC 290 in July. That fight was too billed as a title eliminator bout.
Chimaev did not provide a timeframe for him to return, but would be available before UFC 300. When asked about returned at UFC 300, Chimaev said, ““Tell Dana White (to) make that happen.”
https://www.mmaweekly.com/news/khamzat-chimaev-to-have-surgery-plans-to-come-back-smash-everybody