Khabib Nurmagomedov may be one of the most dominant fighters in UFC history, but outside the cage, he has another passion, soccer. The former UFC lightweight champion has often claimed that the ‘beautiful game’ has always been his first love. So if one insults his wrestling, they might still get away with it since Khabib has been retired for a while now, but criticize his soccer skills and he will make you famous among his 34.8 million followers.
The Dagestani icon and his team regularly play competitive matches against each other, with Islam Makhachev and Khabib often landing on opposing sides. He even reportedly had talks with UEFA president Aleksandr Ceferin, with the owner of PSG, and with Cristiano Ronaldo after his retirement to ensure he could pursue the sport professionally. In 2021, he even signed with the third-tier Russian pro team, the FC Legion Dynamo.
So, when this man claimed Khabib was bad at soccer, the 29-0 fighter took to Instagram to tease him and said,
“Me and my hater ))). He can’t admit that I’m a village football champion))))”
Khabib Nurmagomedov’s Instagram story for his ‘Hater’ pic.twitter.com/MLlHh6t90P
— THE UFCGUY (@the_ufcguy) February 8, 2025
Since his retirement, Khabib has been seen in the crowd watching games at legendary stadiums like Old Trafford and Anfield. While it doesn’t seem he supports a particular team, Khabib is happy to watch great games and just make the best use of his stardom by meeting his idols.
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He even met England great David Beckham, who actually had an unusual request of him,
Khabib sent threats to the Beckham children
Back in 2018, Khabib had a memorable and humorous encounter with the Galactico while attending a PSG match. The former England captain approached Khabib, revealing that his son and he were avid fans of his fights. Beckham then hilariously asked the UFC champion to ask his kids to listen to him or face the consequences.
“David Beckham was there and he started talking about how he and his son were watching my fights and asked that I record a video to him saying, ‘I smash your face if you don’t obey your father,'”
Khabib Nurmagomedov recalls the time he met David Beckham:
“He asked that I record a video to [his sons] saying ‘I’m gonna smash your face if you don’t obey your father’.”
@gorillaenergy #UFC #MMA #Football pic.twitter.com/CAvEQG8zpP
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) January 17, 2025
As he narrated the story, Khabib couldn’t hide his smile, clearly cherishing the lighthearted exchange. Khabib has been extremely disciplined and dedicated to combat sports and winning all his life. Under his father Abdulmanap, he had spent years with only one goal in mind, and he achieved that before his retirement. He not only became a UFC champion with multiple title defenses, Khabib actually retired from the sport undefeated.
And now that he’s actively done with fighting and only shows up to coach his camp ahead of their fights, the champion fighter uses his time doing what he loves most!
