Undefeated Chechen fighter Khamzat Chimaev returns to the octagon for the first time in a year when he takes on Robert Whittaker at UFC 308 in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.
Chimaev was forced to pull out of his bout with former middleweight champion Whittaker at the inaugural UFC Saudi Arabia event in June due to illness, which his team called “devastating”.
But Chimaev is now ready to take on the Australian fighter in what is the co-main event – alongside the Ilia Topuria-Max Holloway featherweight title fight – at a sold out Etihad Arena on Yas Island and the 30-year-old remains undefeated in 13 professional fights.
He has not fought since beating Kamaru Usman by majority decision (29-27, 29-27, 28-28) at UFC 294 in October 2023 – also in Abu Dhabi – when the Nigerian only took up the fight on two weeks' notice after original opponent, Paulo Costa, withdrew due to injury.
Chimaev was far from convincing against the former welterweight champion who was stepping up in weight for the first time but revealed that he had again been struggling with illness on the morning of that bout.
UFC 308 open workouts - in pictures
“I pushed on from first second to last second on my sparring [against Usman] and I don’t think it will be different in the cage this time,” he said in Wednesday's press conference.
“I did not say anything about my health before the Usman fight or everyone thinks that's what happened and went inside the cage healthy. So, it was not that.
“I was sick in the morning before the fight, so I am. I don’t find excuses, I don’t cry like I had a sore throat and all this … I jump in and show with my fights. We are all fighters, we don’t need to find some excuses.”
Former champion Whittaker, whose record stands at 26-7, told The National this week that he plans to “hunt [Chimaev] down from the first second to the last” and “smash” his opponent as he looks to set up another title shot in the middleweight division.
The 33-year-old held the crown for more than two years until he was beaten by Israel Adesanya in October 2019 and heads into his latest contest as the division’s No 3-ranked contender following back-to-back wins.
But UAE resident Chimaev – who blazed a trail through the UFC since debuting in Abu Dhabi in 2020 – insists the fight holds no fears for him.
“We'll see in the cage,” he said when asked if this promises to be one of his hardest nights in the octagon. “Anyone at the top can be a hard fight. We'll see, maybe it's an easy fight, maybe it's a hard fight for me, so we don't know. We’ll see that on the night.
“Everyone talks about my condition, but nobody sees what I've done. I always fight. I'm not that guy who is jumping around and trying to save my energy. I go all the way for a finish.
“I try to finish a guy, but if it doesn't work, I'm going to go all the way. It doesn't matter, I'm here to win my fight. I'm here now and ready … I'm going to go for my victory and take my money, go home and be happy.
“Of course, whatever happens in my life, I have always won. Whatever I fight with, I always win. I think that right now here, I am the best fighter [in the weight division] in the UFC. This is just the point of time. So, whatever others say is not important to me.”
