Khabib Nurmagomedov politely reminded Antonio Rudiger what he’s capable of after the Real Madrid star challenged him to a ‘1 vs 1’.
The UFC legend, who is a massive football fan, recently shared three pictures on Instagram that showed him having fun during an apparent five-a-side game.
Former UFC champion Khabib is a known football lover@khabib_nurmagomedov – instagram
Jude Bellingham reposted one of Nurmagomedov’s pictures to his Instagram story, but his teammate went a step further by issuing a challenge to the former UFC lightweight champion.
“1 vs 1 my brother Khabib Nurmagomedov,” Rudiger wrote.
Conor McGregor’s nemesis hilariously reminded the two-time Champions League winner that football is not an individual sport.
Nurmagomedov suggested they could face off 1-on-1 in MMA instead.
“1 vs 1 is not football,” he replied.
“This is MMA. Be careful.”
Rudiger will be glad to have been let off with a warning as the 31-year-old can’t risk getting injured as his side are set to face off against Stuttgart in the Champions League on Wednesday evening.
Nurmagonmedov retired from MMA at the top of his game in 2020.
‘The Eagle’ was just 32-years-old when he choked out Justin Gaethje in round two round before shocking the world by announcing he was walking away from the UFC.
Nurmagomedov hasn’t returned, despite desperate pleas from Dana White.
Khabib had a hilarious response to being challenged to a 1 vs 1@khabib_nurmagomedov – instagram
Rudiger will be more careful with his words in futureGetty
However, the UFC boss has been given fresh hope about the 29-0 Russian potentially returning to the Octagon as he’s been working out relentlessly.
After retiring, Nurmagomedov gained a significant amount of weight and distanced himself from MMA by walking away from coaching UFC champion Islam Makhachev and a bunch of other fighters.
Now he’s back in the gym, back in shape and heavily involved in the sport again.
Nurmagomedov was even seen with a black eye after a recent workout.
MMA fans are getting excited about his potential comeback, but the man himself is focused on putting the spotlight on his teammates.
Earlier this month, he talked up his cousin, Usman Nurmagomedov, as the future of MMA after he defended his lightweight title at Bellator Champion Series 4 in San Diego, California.
“I think Usman is right now one of the best lightweights in the world,” Khabib said.
“I was before, now it’s our brother Islam [Makhachev], and Usman is next.
“You know, this is a dynasty. I think for many, many years people are gonna talk and they don’t even understand why.
“We work so hard. We believe in Allah, and we believe in ourselves.”
