“I Make Millions, I Don’t Care”: Khamzat Chimaev Fires Back at Inactivity Talk After $600K Gym Reveal
UFC champion Khamzat Chimaev says he passed the point of fighting for money a long time ago, and his latest comments show where a chunk of that cash has gone: a wrestling gym for kids in his home village in Chechnya that he says cost between 600,000 and 700,000 dollars to build.
“I make millions. I don’t care.”
Speaking on the show Beyond the Win, the undefeated UFC middleweight champion brushed off criticism about long layoffs and questions about his activity. Chimaev said he is comfortable with his financial position and has no interest in chasing constant bookings just to stay in the cycle. “People say I have long layoffs, that I’m not active? I don’t care. I make millions,” he said, aiming straight at fans and pundits who think he has gone missing between fights.
Chimaev stressed that his schedule is a choice, not a sign of decline or lack of hunger. Since 2023 he has moved to roughly one fight per year, but his star power and position as champion keep his paydays high enough that volume no longer drives his decisions.
Inactivity has followed Khamzat Chimaev for years, and it has not been just about match-making; illnesses and injuries have repeatedly stalled his momentum and sparked worry about his long-term availability. After bursting into the UFC with three wins in under two months in 2020, he hit his first major setback when lingering effects of Covid-19 led to multiple cancellations of a planned fight with Leon Edwards and even a brief retirement tease in early 2021 because of lung issues.
More recently, a scheduled 2024 headliner against Robert Whittaker in Saudi Arabia fell apart when UFC president Dana White said Chimaev was “violently ill” and his manager Majdi Shammas described a “persistent illness” that had him in and out of hospital for much of camp, forcing him to withdraw.
White later admitted that, from the promotion’s side, “every time he gets close to fighting, he gets really sick,” and outside reporting has detailed a run of surgeries and fractures along with a weakened immune system that wiped out long stretches of training.
Those issues explain why a fighter once praised for the fastest turnarounds on the roster has shifted into a pattern of one fight a year, prompting questions about his durability even as he insists the health situation is now under control and that his current approach is about picking the right moments rather than chasing constant bookings.
A $600–700k wrestling gym in his village
The standout detail from the Beyond the Win appearance is what he says he has done with some of that money. “I built a gym for kids in my village. Spent around 600–700 thousand dollars,” Chimaev explained, outlining a wrestling-focused facility back home in Chechnya. He described it as a place designed for children and teenagers, not a vanity project for his own camps.
Footage from UFC content around his UFC 319 build-up already showed him walking through a training complex under construction in his village, saying he wanted a wrestling space without a cage so local kids could learn the sport first. Reports at the time noted that the broader compound also includes homes for his family, but Chimaev has framed the wrestling gym itself as an investment into the next generation rather than a private, closed camp.
“Money gives you the ability to help others”
Chimaev did not shy away from saying he enjoys making money, but he tied that directly to support for his community. “People say I love money. Yes, I do, money gives you the ability to help others,” he said. He claimed that beyond the gym build he regularly steps in when people at home run into trouble, explaining that if someone in the village falls ill they can call him and he will help cover costs.
“I’m happy with the money the UFC pays me. I’m living the dream,” he said. He added that he makes even more outside the cage because of the name he has built: “Khamzat Chimaev. Wherever I go, people want to sponsor me, they want to do business with me.”
Khamzat Chimaev’s Next Fight
From his point of view, that is enough reason to ignore talk about inactivity. The champion’s focus now is protecting his position, extending his earning window and, crucially in his words, using that income to fund projects like a wrestling gym in his village and direct support for people who reach out when they are in need.
Khamzat Chimaev’s next assignment is locked in: a first middleweight title defense against former champion Sean Strickland in the main event of UFC 328 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, on 9 May 2026. The matchup pits Chimaev’s suffocating wrestling and clinch work against Strickland’s awkward, pressure-heavy striking and volume boxing.
With Strickland coming in as the division’s No. 3 contender after rebounding from his loss to Dricus du Plessis. Chimaev enters unbeaten at 15–0 and riding the momentum of his dominant decision win over du Plessis at UFC 319 last August, while Strickland brings a wealth of five-round experience and the confidence of a former champion who has already upset one favored titleholder before.
Stylistically, the narrative centers on whether Strickland can stay upright and maintain jab-heavy pressure over 25 minutes, or whether Chimaev’s camp, which he says has featured marathon wrestling rounds in preparation, can drag the fight into the kind of grinding, mat-based pace that has broken most of his opponents so far.
