Khamzat Chimaev was described as “violently unwell” earlier than having to withdraw in opposition to Robert Whittaker in June.
Now Chimaev (13-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) has been rebooked in opposition to Whittaker (27-7 MMA, 17-5 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC 308 (pay-per-view, ESPN+) co-main occasion at Etihad Enviornment in Abu Dhabi.
Chimaev was scheduled to face Whittaker at UFC on ABC 6 in Riyadh, however was compelled out attributable to sickness which hospitalized him. Whittaker confronted Ikram Aliskerov as a substitute, knocking him out in Spherical 1. Chimaev opened up on what occurred to him forward of his rescheduled matchup vs. Whittaker.
“We had been in coaching camp. The primary month was superb,” Chimaev stated on UFC Countdown. “The final three weeks, my immunity goes down. I don’t know what occurred. All the blokes ate the identical meals, (however) solely (I) received sick.
“I used to be within the hospital for a few days. I got here out and began to coach once more and the identical sh*t occurred once more. The physician stated to me, ‘You must simply be off from the health club and never simply coaching, not doing nothing.’ I went dwelling to the mountains.”
Undefeated Chimaev hasn’t competed since edging out former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman final October at UFC 294. His combat vs. Whittaker is being dubbed as a No. 1 contender bout.
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