Khamzat Chimaev became “depressed” and “frightened” after coughing up blood, details brother

The brother of UFC welterweight contender Khamzat Chimaev says the Russian star became “depressed” and “frightened” after coughing up blood.

Chimaev was one of the UFC’s breakout stars in 2020. The former BRAVE CF prospect joined the UFC on Fight Island last summer and proceeded to pick up three finishes over John Phillips, Rhys McKee, and Gerald Meerschaert. He was set to fight top-ranked Leon Edwards in a potential No. 1 contender bout earlier this year, but the fight was pushed back after Chimaev contracted COVID-19. The UFC pushed the fight back to March, but it was scratched a few weeks ago when Chimaev’s COVID-19 issues were not getting any better. Instead, Edwards now takes on Belal Muhammad on the March 13 UFC card.

Chimaev, meanwhile, is still feeling the negatives effects of the coronavirus, and he hinted at retiring from the sport earlier this week due to his COVID-19 issues, while also sharing a photo of a sink covered in blood. Speaking to Dagens Kalmar, Artur Chimaev, the brother of the UFC welterweight, explained more about the incident that left Chimaev coughing up blood. According to his brother, “Borz” was eager to get back to training, but he wasn’t even able to make it through the first session because he rushed himself back too quickly.

“He has not fully recovered. There are some points on the right lung that are not completely restored. Khamzat had been given antibiotics and after two weeks he thought it was okay to train again,” Artur Chimaev said.

His brother added that the UFC star usually trains four sessions a day, but this time he couldn’t even make it through the first session. The sight of seeing blood was too much to handle and he became “depressed” and “frightened” following the incident.

“He was completely finished. The lungs could not cope, he began to cough up blood and became frightened,” Chimaev said. “He became depressed, this means so much to him. I’ve told him to calm down. To give it time. That this disease affects different people differently.”

According to his brother, Chimaev has decided to not retire just yet, instead opting to give it a few months to see how he feels before making a decision about his future.

“He said that he has decided to continue now. But that it will take some time. I told him to rest for two or three months. Then it will be good,” Artur Chimaev said.

Do you think we will see Khmazat Chimaev step back into the Octagon in 2021?