"He remains and will fight to the end" - Khamzat Chimaev convinced to not retire by Head of Chechen Republic

Earlier today, Khamzat Chimaev announced his retirement from MMA with an emotional message posted on his Instagram account.

The Russian-Swedish fighter of Chechen descent recently had to pull out of his fight with Leon Edwards several times owing to COVID-19 related complications. It seemed like the situation had reached a point where Khamzat Chimaev was considering to hang up his fighting gloves and put a full stop to his career because of the lingering symptoms of the disease.

"I want to say thank you to everyone for their support in my path in this sport. I think I'm done, 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. I want to say a huge thank you to my team. I want to say a huge thank you to UFC," Khamzat Chimaev wrote on his Instagram account.

However, he might be changing his mind about the matter after all.

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Khamzat Chimaev changed his mind post conversation with Chechen Head

Ramzan Kadyrov, the head of the Chechen Republic, took to Instagram post-Khamzat Chimaev's retirement announcement and shared that he had successfully convinced the UFC fighter to keep fighting and not give up. Khamzat Chimaev apparently realized the importance of his career and the significance it holds for the people of his country and decided to change his mind.

Khamzat Chimaev will finish his rehabilitation before starting to train again for his MMA career, the post also said.

Read Ramzan Kadyrov's post below:

Ramzan Kadyrov, the head of the Chechen Republic, posted on his IG this morning that he spoke to Khamzat Chimaev and essentially convinced him to not retire. “He remains and will fight to the end,” the post states, per the IG translator. (h/t @wwlmma) pic.twitter.com/aI0HEX1QIB

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) March 2, 2021

For the moment, it remains uncertain when or how Khamzat Chimaev will return to the octagon, and there appears to be a long journey ahead of him,