UFC super prospect Khamzat Chimaev is still suffering with COVID, and it's unclear when he'll be able to fight again

• Khamzat Chimaev is still suffering from lingering COVID effects months after testing positive.
• The fighter is one of the hottest prospects in the UFC but thought "he was going to die."
• The UFC is flying him from Europe to the USA so he can receive treatment there.

UFC super prospect Khamzat Chimaev is still struggling with COVID and it's unclear when he'll even fight again.

The Russian fighter took the MMA world by storm last year when he won two fights in 10 days - a UFC record - on Fight Island in the summer, before bulldozing through his third UFC opponent in 17 seconds with a merciless one-punch knockout.

His fourth fight in the world-leading mixed martial arts firm was supposed to be against the elite welterweight Leon Edwards, but the bout kept getting rescheduled for coronavirus-related reasons.

The Chimaev-Edwards fight was supposed to take place on December 19. but the Briton withdrew because of COVID.

The date was then pushed back to January 20, but then Chimaev couldn't fight because of COVID.

Though the match was pushed to March 13, it has once again been nixed as the 26-year-old athlete Chimaev is yet to recover from the lingering effects of the disease.

According to the ESPN MMA reporter Brett Okamoto, the UFC is now flying Chimaev into Las Vegas so he can "receive medical care in the US."

The fighter's manager Ali Abdelaziz, who also represents fighters including Khabib Nurmagomedov, Kamaru Usman, and Kayla Harrison, said he hope's Chimaev can compete in June but stressed that his "long-term health is top priority."

'He thought he was going to die'

Another representative of Chimaev's, Majdi Shammas, detailed in a Front Kick documentary on YouTube how unwell Chimaev felt during his camp for the canceled Edwards fights.

"He was really bad, he didn't even do two rounds straight - he did one round and then rested," said Shammas.

"He started coughing, started feeling ill again, and we had to cancel the training. He even went in an ambulance to the hospital."

According to Shammas, Chimaev called him one time when he was suffering from the disease. "He thought he was going to die."

The UFC President Dana White said he's "bummed out" about Chimaev's illness, ESPN reported.

"Chimaev is still suffering from the effects of COVID. There's something wrong with his lungs. They're putting him on medication again," he said.

"The one thing you have to look at right now is health. Let's make sure this guy is healthy, get him the best care we can and make sure he makes a full recovery."

He added: "I was so excited. That was one of my favorite fights this year."

Chimaev has a flawless pro MMA record of nine wins (six knockouts and three submissions) against zero losses.

Since joining the UFC from the Brave CF organization, Chimaev submitted John Phillips with a brabo choke, then knocked out Rhys McKee and Gerarld Meerschaert with punches.

The UFC matchmaker Sean Shelby is currently working on finding a replacement opponent for Edwards to face.