At one time, was considered the biggest prospect in the . He seemed unbeatable with an aura unmatched among the UFC greats. The currently undefeated fighter came into the UFC and finished his first three opponents in stunning fashion including a 17-second knockout of Gerald Meerschaert in September 2020.
But that shine began to dim with a string of canceled fights, a massive weight mishap, and controversy surrounding his legal status in the United States. Chimaev has had six canceled fights in under four years, with five of those cancelations being main event bookings. We'll take a look at each of those five bouts one by one and dissect what happened to see Chimaev sidelined.
What would have been Chimaev's first UFC main event was a UFC Fight Night on the 19th of December 2020 versus . The world was at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and fighters were still being tested multiple times a week leading up to their fights. On the 29th of November, just two weeks before he was set to appear, it was announced he'd tested positive for COVID and the fight was in jeopardy.
The fight was eventually postponed when Edwards also tested positive for the virus. The fight with Edwards was rescheduled for the 20th of January 2021, but Chimaev pulled out of the fight citing lingering (and seemingly serious) issues with the virus. “Khamzat had coronavirus and when he went back to gym, his lungs did not recover 100 percent,” Ali Abdelaziz told at the time of the withdrawal.
“He needs t.