Teammate shares photo of "violently ill" Khamzat Chimaev with six-word message amid fight cancellation drama

Dana White recently confirmed that Khamzat Chimaev was forced to withdraw from his fight against Robert Whittaker at UFC Saudi Arabia due to severe medical issues. White also took to social media to reveal that Whittaker will now be facing Ikram Aliskerov in the main event of the June 22 card.

In an Instagram post, the UFC CEO announced Chimaev's withdrawal and reported that the Chechen-born fighter was seriously ill. He said:

"A little news here. Unfortunately, Khamzat Chimaev is out of the fight next weekend in Saudi Arabia. Violently, and I mean, violently ill. So, he's going back home, and hopefully, he gets well soon. The replacement, Ikram Aliskerov."

While the winner of the Whittaker-Chimaev fight was expected to get into the middleweight title picture, it appears 'Borz' might have to wait longer for his championship opportunity. Before Chimaev's withdrawal was confirmed, his teammate posted a photo of him admitted to the hospital on social media.

In a recent Instagram post, via Aaron Bronsteter on X, Chimaev's teammate and friend Guram Kutateladze posted a picture of the grappling phenom admitted to the hospital and wrote a simple six-word message for his friend. He wrote:

"Behind every hardship, there is relief."

Chimaev's manager, Majdi Shammas, later took to Instagram to issue a statement on his star client's situation. He revealed that 'Borz' had been suffering from an illness that hospitalized him several times throughout his training camp and couldn't recover fully in time to face an opponent as formidable as Whittaker. He also extended an apology to the UFC brass, Turki Alalshikh, and the fans.

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Dillon Danis reacts to Khamzat Chimaev pulling out of UFC Saudi Arabia

Dillon Danis isn't happy about the idea of Khamzat Chimaev pulling out of his fight against Robert Whittaker at UFC Saudi Arabia and recently offered to replace the grappling phenom. Before the UFC CEO officially confirmed it, reports were floating around on social media about Chimaev's withdrawal.

The news was first reported by Australian MMA journalist Benny P (@Bendaman2001 on X). It was later reposted by several outlets, including @SpinninBackfist, which seemingly caught Danis' attention. Offering to replace the Chechen-born fighter, he shared the now-deleted post and wrote:

"He [Chimaev] said he would fight five guys in one night, but now he can't even fight one. I'll move up to 185 and fight Robert Whittaker. Hit me up, @danawhite."

Check out Dillon Danis' now-deleted tweet below:

Screenshot from @dillondanis on X

It's worth noting that Danis hasn't competed in combat sports since his ill-fated boxing debut against Logan Paul in August last year. Danis was disqualified in the sixth round due to throwing an illegal grappling move on his opponent.