Don’t bank on seeing Khamzat Chimaev fight in April’s UFC 300 main event.

The unbeaten Chimaev, most recently seen in October scoring a majority decision win over Kamaru Usman in a middleweight contest, was one of several names floating as a candidate for the still-unfilled headline slot in the UFC’s bumper April 13 fight card in Las Vegas. However, while the 13-0 fighter says that he wants to get back to action — it won’t come in a couple of months’ time against either Leon Edwards or Dricus du Plessis, both possible opponents for the unbeaten Chechen as he chases his first opportunity at UFC gold.

“I will fight everybody,” Chimaev told MMA Uncensored, adding that there is just one condition. “Leon, Du Plessis, anyone but not [during] Ramadan. I think Ramadan [is during] UFC 300. Maybe somebody in Saudi Arabia. I want to fight there. Not fighting in Ramadan anymore.”

Ramadan, the holy month during which practising Muslims cannot eat food or drink water during daylight hours, runs from March 10 to April 9.

Chimaev has competed during Ramadan one one previous occasion in the UFC, his unanimous decision victory over Gilbert Burns back in April 2022. Should his return to action be set for the UFC’s upcoming card in Saudi Arabia, it likely means that Chimaev will be held in reserve until the event on June 22.

UFC CEO Dana White, along with his team of matchmakers, are currently exploring options to top the UFC 300 fight card, reports say. Chimaev had been considered a prime candidate but it now seems that the UFC brass will be forced to look elsewhere to complete the card hyped by White as being one of the biggest in the promotion’s history.