UFC champ Khabib Nurmagomedov defeated Conor McGregor in 2018. Pics via Getty Images
When Khabib Nurmagomedov defeated Conor McGregor in the biggest grudge match in MMA history, a call was waiting for him when he was walking back to the dressing room. According to UFC CEO Dana White, Vladimir Putin called the champion to congratulate him and give him a gift.
“He didn’t even make it back to his dressing room after the fight, and Putin was on the phone,” White recently said on the “Games with Names” podcast. “Putin gave him and his father, like, $20 million worth of property in Russia. Then he went into the Muslim territories where these guys are like, cars, money, gyms, whatever he wanted.”
Khabib Nurmagomedov retired as an undefeated champion after holding the UFC lightweight title from April 2018 to March 2021. The UFC boss claimed that the level of Nurmagomedov’s fame comes with a financial situation that makes an athlete likely to retire.
“Once you get to that level, it’s like what we’re dealing with with Conor McGregor,” White said. “Conor McGregor lives in a yacht in the middle of wherever the warmest place in the world is at that time. Once you get to that level, you’re not getting up and getting punched in the face any more.”