UFC’s Khamzat Chimaev Not Retiring from MMA After COVID Battle, Dana White Says

UFC rising star Khamzat Chimaev is NOT moving on from MMA, despite a cryptic IG post suggesting otherwise, this according to Dana White.

26-year-old Khamzat — one of the hottest rising stars in the sport (9-0 record) — has been battling COVID since January 2021 … and he’s still suffering from symptoms.

In fact, Khamzat’s manager said the fighter was even hospitalized due to some pretty serious symptoms at one point.

Fast-forward to Monday night … when Khamzat went to Instagram and posted an apparent farewell note to his fans.

“I think I’m done,” Khamzat said … “Yes, I know that I didn’t take the belt, but this is not the most important victory in this life. It may upset you, but my heart and body tell me everything.

He also posted a photo of a blood-spattered bathroom sink with the caption, “The main thing is I do not know what this disease is but it is not easily outlived.”

But, Dana White says he spoke with Khamzat — who’s currently in Las Vegas — and he’s not buying the retirement talk.

“When he got here, the doctors took care of him, and they put him on prednisone, which is a nasty f**king steroid,” White told MMA Junkie.

“So he’s on prednisone, and he’s supposed to be taking this thing and chilling, relaxing, and letting himself recover. He went in and f**king trained today, felt like s**t, and got super emotional and posted that.”

“He’s not supposed to be training, but you know, this guy’s a savage. He wants to fight like every f**king weekend, and now he can’t even train, so he just got emotional and posted that, but he ain’t quitting.”