Cristiano Ronaldo could be the most confused party to take sides between Khabib Nurmagomedov or Conor McGregor following the incident after the Russian fighter defeat McGregor at the T-Mobile Arena on Sunday (7/10). The reason is, the soccer superstar is known to be good friends with the two mixed martial arts athletes.
Khabib himself once revealed the beginning of his close friendship with the attackers who are now grazing at Juventus. The man who was usually nicknamed The Eagle revealed Instagram social media that managed to make the two world athletes meet.
Quoted from The Sun, Khabib initially claimed to be surprised Ronaldo replied to follow Instagram after the Dagestan-born fighter followed CR7 Instagram in 2014.
“Someone said that to me [Ronaldo followed Khabib’s Instagram], but I thought it was just a joke. However, then I checked and correctly he followed me back.”
“After that my friend had the idea to try sending a message to him. He then immediately responded,” Khabib was quoted by The Sun.
The fighter who used to wear a typical Russian hairy hat was not shy to admit that he was a heavy fan of Ronaldo.
“We started chatting with each other [via Instagram] and I did not know for sure he asked whether [UFC President] Dana White could bring me to fight Dos Anjos in UFC 201.”
“Then I sent a photo defeating Dos Anjos [Khabib had defeat Dos Anjos in 2014]. He then sent me emojis and thumb symbols,” he said.
The relationship between Khabib and Ronaldo has since become even closer. The fighter was even invited by Ronaldo to watch him play for Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in February. At that time CR7 in Los Blancos in uniform scored a hat trick and helped his team win 5-2 over Real Sociedad in the Spanish League last season. Khabib was introduced to Ronaldo’s son, Ronaldo Jr., who apparently was a big fan of the Russian national fighter.
Ronaldo and Khabib then exchanged gifts. Ronaldo gave the Madrid jersey that read ‘Khabib’ with number 7 on the back plus a ball signed by the former Manchester United player. While Khabib gave a feather hat called papakha, which is often used by the fighter in each competition.
Khabib himself had exhibited a short video of his meeting with Ronaldo in his Instagram account. Ronaldo said: “Assalamuaikum,” to him.
Khabib is now in a big problem threatening sanctions following the incident after the UFC lightweight fight with Conor McGregor. The man who managed to conquer The Notorius through submission, made a mess of jumping over the octagon fence then attacked the Irish Republican fighter, Dillon Danis. Rivalry between the two is even more sharp with the war of words through social media.
Interestingly, McGregor also had a good relationship with Ronaldo. During the holidays after winning the 2016 European Cup, Ronaldo had visited McGregor’s training ground. Ronaldo and McGregor took pictures together and the moment was uploaded to a social media account.
