In a recent sharing on Instagram, UFC champion Khabib Nurmagomedov shared that in the past, his dream was to become a football player. However, the situation of living in Dagestan – an autonomous region has many fluctuations in Russia – has made Khabib choose martial arts. Even Khabib also said that if the player Cristiano Ronaldo was born in Dagestan, CR7 may have become an UFC champion and should also.
“I love football since childhood and still dreamed of being a player,” Khabib said.
“But I was born in Dagestan. The situation there, people also know. Suppose Cristiano Ronaldo also born here, he may have become a UFC champion.”
Khabib Nurmagomedov announced hanging gloves after defeating Justin Gaethje at UFC 254 in October 2020. It is still unclear whether Dana White is able to persuade Khabib to return to the ring or not, but with the recent moves of the unbeaten champion, perhaps the chance of Khabib returning to UFC is not very high.
In another development, Khabib Nurmagomedov was half joking half that he wanted to play professional football.
“I want to be a player is not strange. Football is the sport of the king,” Khabib said on Match TV.
“I used to talk seriously about that issue with UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin, with PSG boss Tamim Bin Hamad Al Than, and with Cristiano Ronaldo.”