Khamzat Chimaev reveals he thought he had cancer when he coughed up blood

UFC welterweight prospect Khamzat Chimaev revealed he thought he had cancer when he coughed up blood after a training session in Las Vegas.

Chimaev was supposed to fight Leon Edwards in March but he was forced out of the fight due to a severe battle with COVID-19, a battle that left him coughing up blood and thinking his career was over. Speaking to RT Sport in a recent interview, Chimaev revealed that his initial instinct was to think he had cancer after seeing himself cough up blood into the sink.

“Yes, (the medical care in Las Vegas) was good but they made me train. I was doing good at first, then they told me that I could start cardio training. And I felt sick again. I went to the bathroom and started coughing up blood. That just messed up my mind a bit. Honestly, it scared me… cancer? Like, ‘I have been sick so long, why doesn’t it go away?’ Different thoughts were going through my mind. Plus I was alone there in Las Vegas, struggling to overcome it all,” Chiamev said.

It’s tough for a professional fighter to deal with this kind of severe illness, but fortunately for Chimaev, he appears to finally start getting healthy after a rough fight with COVID-19. “Borz” has admitted that he hopes to return to the Octagon sometime this summer and he is interested in a matchup against top-10 ranked veteran Neil Magny, who has said he doesn’t want to wait for Chimaev to get healthy. According to the Swede, he hopes that the Magny fight happens this summer, but as of right now it’s all just talk and not official.

“It’s still just rumors,” Chimaev said of Magny. “Nothing is clear yet. We will see.”

Who do you want to see Khamzat Chimaev fight in his return to the Octagon?