There may have been a detour on Khamzat Chimaev’s path to win the middleweight belt in the UFC. According to a source from UFC broadcast partner ESPN, the undefeated contender—who was expected to face new champion Sean Strickland following his victory over Kamaru Usman at UFC 294—will be sidelined for at least a month due to a damaged ligament in his palm.
(735) Khamzat thinks he broke his hand at #UFC294 (via UFC Europe) – YouTube
Eight days ago in Abu Dhabi, Chimaev (13-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) won unanimously over Usman (20-4 MMA, 15-3 UFC), claiming to have broken his right hand. However, his manager told ESPN that he will wear a brace for four weeks before assessing how his hand feels.
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Khamzat Chimaev Might Have Torn His Hand Ligament At UFC 294
At UFC 293 in September, Strickland (28-5 MMA, 15-5 UFC) stunned many by outworking Israel Adesanya to win the title by a wide unanimous decision. He was outspoken following Chimaev’s victory against Usman, stating that he didn’t think his probable next opponent had done enough to get a shot at the title, especially because he was going up against someone making their weight class debut with less than two weeks’ notice.
Now, if Chimaev turns out to be his opponent, he will have to wait an extra month for his return, regardless of whether he believes Chimaev is a worthy first adversary.
Chimaev defeated Usman in his middleweight debut after a break of more than three years. After that, he won two fights at welterweight and one at a 180-pound catchweight. At UFC 279, he went so far over the 170-pound limit that the main event had to be moved to the co-feature, where he defeated Kevin Holland.
Chimaev, who weighs 185 pounds on purpose, might not have any problems if his ligament injury is a one-month setback. However, the longer Strickland waits, the greater the chance that Dricus Du Plessis’s name will be mentioned.
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