The comical anecdote between David Beckham and Khabib Nurmagomedov: “He asked me to send a video to his children…”

There are certain mixed martial arts (MMA) stars who transcend their sport. Khabib Nurmagomedov was one of them. The former UFC lightweight champion has already declared on numerous occasions that he is a fervent football follower, which has allowed him to be invited by various elite clubs to watch their matches at the stadium. And, of course, it has also brought him closer to football superstars like Cristiano Ronaldo or David Beckham. It was with the latter that he lived a comical anecdote that has now come to light.

Khabib was known during his time as a professional fighter for being one of the most dominant athletes in the world. His Dagestani fighting style allowed him to overwhelm many of his rivals, including Conor McGregor, in what was, to this day, the most watched fight in the history of the sport, with a very high number of pay-per-view tickets ( PPV): 2.4 million. And the Russian, nicknamed The Eagle, was capable of take his opponents to the mat, knead them and destroy them until the referee stopped the fight.

Aware of this, the aforementioned English soccer star continued his entire professional career, his lawsuits becoming a bond with his children, as together they enjoyed the performances of the former lightweight champion, who defended his title three times, until his retired in 2020. This is how Khabib tells of the meeting they had.

«It was the end of 2018 and I flew to Paris. They invited me to a Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) match. David Beckham began to tell me how many times he had seen my fights with his children. He told me that in his ‘home’ they had a gym where amateur practitioners fought. And he asked me if I could record a video for his children in which he told them that, If they didn’t obey him, he would smash their faces in.», Khabib says with a laugh, in an interview for his Gorilla energy drink brand.

We do not know if that video sent to Beckham’s children had an effect or not, but it does tell us that numerous prominent footballers closely follow the exploits of UFC stars. It is not strange to see some of them close to some champions. One of the closest examples is Sergio Ramos, who was present last October in Abu Dhabi, to see Ilia Topuria successfully defend her belt against Max Holloway.