Khamzat Chimaev says he does not have half of his thyroid gland, has undergone six surgeries and has been under anesthesia seven times over the course of his career.
The disclosures came in a Sunday sit-down with Russian blogger Adam Zubayrev, in which the former middleweight titleholder set a December deadline for the UFC to book his next fight.
“I have a lot of injuries. I need to get them treated,” Chimaev said, in comments carried by Yahoo Sports.
“I don’t have half of my thyroid gland. I’ve been under anesthesia seven times and had six surgeries.”
He added that he has repeatedly delayed procedures to keep fighting, and that his family has often overridden his own instincts about whether he was fit to compete.
“If people had listened to me, the fight wouldn’t have happened either. My brother decided that I could fight, so I fought,” he said.
The December deadline
Chimaev has not fought since losing his 185lb belt to Sean Strickland by split decision at UFC 328 in Newark, New Jersey, on May 9. Two judges scored the bout 48-47 for Strickland and a third 48-47 for Chimaev, ESPN reported at the time.
Four months on, the Chechen-born, Sweden-based contender says his approaches to the UFC have gone unanswered.
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“So far, they haven’t called me, nothing like that yet. I asked them,” he said.
“I want to fight in Abu Dhabi. I’m not asking for a title fight. Give me someone to fight. Let me make some money and get my belt back as soon as possible.”
If no bout materializes, the break begins.
“I was trying to get one in October, and now I’m trying for December,” he told Zubayrev.
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“If nothing happens in December, I think I’ll take a little break.”
Preferred opponents both hurt
The path back has narrowed. Chimaev had publicly called out both Caio Borralho and Dricus du Plessis, but the UFC has told him both are unavailable due to injury, according to reporting on the interview.
Borralho had accepted a callout on social media and floated a November date at Madison Square Garden before the injury news emerged, The Body Lock reported. That leaves Nassourdine Imavov, who is in line for the next title shot against Strickland, and a Strickland rematch as the realistic middleweight matchups on the board.
Waiting on du Plessis, in particular, is not on the table.
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“I don’t want to wait one or two years for him to recover,” Chimaev said.
No belt, no calls, no timeline
Chimaev finished 2025 as the newly crowned middleweight champion after beating Dricus du Plessis for the title at UFC 319. The Strickland loss in May ended an unbeaten professional record and has so far been his only appearance of 2026.
For now, he is trying to book a fight from the outside of the title picture while managing a body that his own account suggests is running out of quiet fixes. His next move rests with the UFC’s matchmakers between now and the end of the year.
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