Every UFC fighter dedicates years of their life trying to get to that one defining moment in his or her career when all that training is made worthwhile. So if we’re talking about a fighter getting to championship status, it’s Khamzat Chimaev‘s time at UFC 319 to realize his dream. But before he takes on Dricus du Plessis, it seems like not everybody is certain about his ability to be a reliable champion because analyst Din Thomas pointed out an important issue with the Chechen-born star.

Khamzat Chimaev is one of the biggest stars in the UFC at the moment, and Dana White once clearly mentioned him in the same bracket as Conor McGregor. That’s big coming from the UFC CEO, who doesn’t always speak the Irishman’s name along the same lines as other fighters in his promotion. So, what’s the problem here? Well, Chimaev’s history of pulling out of fights has Din Thomas worried. Not only does he think there’s a chance the UFC 319 main event falls off, but Thomas is also worried that ‘Borz’ may not be able to be as consistent as he should if he wins the middleweight title.

“I’m going to keep it hundred with you, if Khamzat wins, it’s a disaster, actually. [That’s] because you can’t tell me a part of you is just thinking this fight actually might not happen… It’s not because of Dricus,” Din Thomas told Mike Bohn during a recent interview. “Some of these guys are just habitual in terms of not making it to the dance… But my point is that, if he does show up and he does win, do we trust him to be able to fight again?”

Also, there’s another issue that has been brought to light. Remember when Jon Jones refused to fight Tom Aspinall when he was the undisputed heavyweight champion? Not only did he make the fans wait to no avail, but he also ticked off a lot of other heavyweight contenders who claimed that Jones was holding up the division. Din Thomas claims that Dana White cannot afford to let that happen again. “[That’s] because we need movement. I hate when it’s just like, static. When there’s no movement in these divisions. And in order for there to be movement in the divisions, the champions have to fight,” the UFC analyst added.

Well, the discussion surrounding the reliability of Khamzat Chimaev took shape after he pulled out of the initial date for the Robert Whittaker fight. But he later spoke about that pullout, claiming that he had a medical issue, but has taken care of it. Here’s what he had to say.

Khamzat Chimaev made changes to training camps after UFC Saudi Arabia pullout

‘Borz’ revealed last September that the way he trained previously did not work in his favor. He could make proper use of his recovery time. This led him to bring in his original wrestling coach, Salim Noutsalkhanov, to manage his training and recovery so that he doesn’t go through severe health issues again. Chimaev claims to have learned his lesson and is now taking a more measured approach to his body.

“They now let me rest and recover properly,” Chimaev said in a new interview with Hustle. “I used to go to the gym and just train until I was done. But, then I ended up in the hospital like the last time when I was in hospital three times in a row within three weeks,” Khamzat Chimaev stated last year. “My immune system went down, I got sick. Now, I use a better approach. I work with good coaches, raised a lot of world champions … I am going to take a big step forward.”

Well, we’ll have to wait and see if Khamzat Chimaev can prove Din Thomas wrong and become a reliable champion. His coach has already dismissed rumors of retiring anytime soon, so the only thing left for him is to be a more active fighter as he was during his initial years in the UFC. Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.