Khamzat Chimaev is taking UFC 319 very seriously.
The Chechen standout has always showed up to his fights ready to kill, but historically, making it to the Octagon has been a bigger challenge than actually winning once in the cage. Chimaev suffered a serious bout of COVID-19 that nearly derailed his career in 2020, and since then, there have been numerous complications and incidents. Most recently, Chimaev was sent to the hospital just days before he was supposed to face Robert Whittaker at UFC Saudi Arabia, though “Borz” was successful when the match up did finally materialize.
Many have suggested that Chimaev trains too hard and too often, leaving his body and immune system vulnerable to illness. Ahead of the biggest fight of his life versus Dricus Du Plessis, Chimaev has adapted in several ways to hopefully avoid health issues. For example, Khamzat has relocated to Southern California for half his fight camp and is working with one of the more well-known conditioning coaches in the sport, Sam Calavitta, who is reportedly monitoring his recovery closely to avoid overtraining.
It goes deeper than that, however. In a recent ESPN interview, Chimaev revealed that he’s purposefully avoiding the general public and staying in whenever possible. He’s too wary of getting sick and being exposed to germs to interact with fans, even if that’s something he generally enjoys. Per his team, “Borz” hardly leaves his house at all aside from training.
“It’s hard to go out to the people,” Khamzat explained (h/t Home Of Fight). “I like the people when they love me and come forth and take pictures, but this fight I have to be ready. Don’t get sick. [I have to] show up to the fight and give to my fans the thing they love. That’s why I’m just saying to the boys, if we go to the mall, if somebody sick is a big fan comes for me, maybe we get that sickness, so I have to be careful for that.”
Khamzat added that he’ll visit to the beach sometimes or occasionally go out with his team mates, but it’s “better to stay home.”
At the time of writing, we’re just about one week removed from UFC 319 and the Chimaev vs. Du Plessis clash. “Borz” appears to be healthy and in tremendous shape, but he’ll never be more vulnerable than during his weight cut in the final days approaching the event. Sage precautions or not, fight fans — not to mention “DDP” — will be waiting with bated breath until he’s actually in the cage.