Did Khamzat Chimaev Really Pull Out of Fight Against Robert Whittaker for UFC 308 Co-Main Event? Exploring VIRAL Rumor

Rumors swirl around the potential Khamzat Chimaev vs. Robert Whittaker fight cancellation after cryptic UFC posts fuel speculation among fans and media.

By Debmallya Chakraborty

Published on Sep 02, 2024 | 10:13 PM IST | 629.1K

Khamzat Chimaev

Khamzat Chimaev vs Robert Whittaker is one of the highly anticipated matches of 2024. Unfortunately, despite being scheduled to take place at UFC 308, there have been lingering doubts about whether the bout will come to fruition. Chimaev and Whittaker were supposed to headline UFC Abu Dhabi recently. But an unforeseen illness forced ‘Borz’ to pull out of the fight. This paved the way for Ikram Aliskerov, comfortably beaten by the Australian, to step in.

Looking at the popularity of both the fighters, Dana White and co. quickly rebooked the duo in a match that was supposed to be the co-main event of UFC 308. Sadly, a recent announcement from the UFC stated that the co-main event has been changed. Now, it will feature a heavyweight bout between Ciryl Gane and Alexander Volkov.

This led to a widespread rumor about the fight getting canceled and that Khamzat Chimaev had once again pulled out of the fight.

But the reality is, there is no news of Khamzat Chimaev pulling out or the match being called off. Moments after the Gane vs Volkov fight, the UFC posted a picture of both Whittaker and Chimaev and captioned it, “The Matchup we’ve all been waiting for.”

And if this was not enough, to add to the confusion further, the UFC went on to delete the post where they informed the fans about the change in the co-main event.

Well, apart from the UFC’s back and forth on X, there is another strong reason for the fans to speculate about Khamzat Chimaev’s absence. The Chechen native has a history of pulling out of fights. When ‘Borz’ pulled out of the Abu Dhabi fight, the fans were significantly angered and took some scathing shots at ‘Borz’ despite his illness.

Well, those verbal attacks seem to have made Chimaev concerned as he came out to detail his condition. Speaking recently with Aslanbek Badaev, ‘Borz’ mentioned that Chimaev did not feel alright despite taking sufficient rest. As a matter of fact, things took a turn for the worse, and the UFC fighter had to be hospitalized immediately.

After careful medical examination, the doctors found that Chimaev was suffering from severe stress, as a result of which his immunity dropped significantly. Having a hard time coming out of the intense situation, Khamzat Chimaev looks to be up and running for his anticipated bout. And with the fight not being canceled, fans can definitely expect a banger of a fight coming their way at UFC 308.

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