Khamzat Chimaev, the Chechen middleweight UFC contender, posted, then deleted, a series of shocking pictures that appeared to show him suffering from a mystery illness, according to MMA Mania.
Chimaev, affectionately known as “Borz” was originally slated to fight for the middleweight title at UFC 297 next month, but was mysteriously pulled from the card, according to MMA Mania.
Originally, media speculation pointed to Borz’s torn wrist as the reason why his title shot was replaced with Sean Strickland vs. Dricus Du Plessis, MMA Mania reported.
But following the release of Chimaev’s shocking photos, it appears there was much more going on. (RELATED: ‘Right Wing Avengers’: Joe Rogan Says Crowd Went ‘Nuts’ Over Trump, Tucker UFC Appearance)
Chimaev reportedly posted a series of photos of himself in the hospital, attached to respirators and with red welts covering his face and body. He captioned the disturbing images explaining why he wasn’t fighting, according to MMA Mania.
Khamzat Chimaev posted and then deleted a picture of himself saying he was very sick pic.twitter.com/RDQnhmnOce
— MMA Mania (@mmamania) January 3, 2024
“I was very sick, my hand was injured, so I couldn’t return right away, I wanted to tell all the [fans,] I want to see myself in battle more than all of you,” Borz wrote, according to MMA Mania. “I love this job, I will do and prove that I am the best, as always we do, and I will be back soon to training Insha’Allal.”
After he deleted the post, Borz reportedly replaced it with another video in which he looked much better, saying “I’m coming back soon … for my belts.”
— Khamzat Chimaev (@KChimaev) January 3, 2024
The setback is yet another for the Russian wrestler, who previously retired after COVID-19 complications took a toll on him, according to MMA Mania.