Cristiano Ronaldo would’ve been UFC champ if he was born in Dagestan: Khabib Nurmagomedov

Cristiano Ronaldo is widely regarded as one of the greatest footballers in the history of the sport, considering his legendary spells with Manchester United, Real Madrid, the Portuguese national team and now Juventus. But, according to his friend and current UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, the five-time Ballon d'Or award winner could have also seen success in combat sports if he was born in Dagestan.

Khabib’s native city has been a hotbed for mixed martial arts for years as it has produced some incredible talents over the past decades, including the Eagle himself, his cousin Umar Nurmagomedov, Islam Makhachev, Muslim Salikhov, Zabit Magomedsharipov and many others. Nurmagomedov's late father, Abdulmanap, was largely responsible for the growth of fighters from the region as he trained many fighters in his gym.

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Khabib mentions Cristiano Ronaldo while writing about football

A day after seeing Kylian Mbappe tear Barcelona apart in the Champions League at the Camp Nou, Khabib Nurmagomedov shared a heartfelt post on his Instagram page, with a picture of him from the legendary stadium. Khabib Nurmagomedov wrote that he “loved football since [his]childhood and always dreamed of becoming a footballer”. However, because he was born in Dagestan — a city known for producing wrestlers and fighters — he had to change his ‘priorities’.

“Who knows, maybe if Cristiano Ronaldo was born in Dagestan, he would have also become a UFC champion. I want to say that football is sport and I became a fighter by accident. I’m joking, not by accident,” Khabib wrote.

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Khabib Nurmagomedov shows his love for football

Khabib Nurmagomedov later added that when he was in sixth grade, he used to write the names of footballers in his notebook as there was no internet back then. “I was pleased to be at this legendary stadium and see in real life such a battle,” The Eagle concluded.

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Khabib Nurmagomedov is a major Real Madrid fan as the first match he remembers seeing the full 90 minutes was between Madrid and Juventus in 1998. Both the clubs clashed in the Champions League final, which Madrid ended up winning. The UFC lightweight champion also claimed earlier that he would love to play football professionally, considering he retired from UFC in October 2020. The Eagle has also even discussed becoming a pro-footballer with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi and UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin.

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Image Source: Cristiano Ronaldo/Instagram