After defeating Conor McGregor at UFC 229, Khabib Nurmagomedov received a phone call from Vladimir Putin and was given gifts including $20 million worth of property in Russia, according to UFC CEO Dana White.
Picture this: Khabib Nurmagomedov, fresh from the UFC 229 ring, wading through a sea of Nevada Athletic Commission officials, Las Vegas police, and UFC security. Destination? The back of T-Mobile Arena. Waiting for him? A call.
Who’s on the other end? None other than Vladimir Putin. He’d switched from watching the fight on TV to making a phone call, all to congratulate the Dagestani champ. And why not? Khabib had just tapped out MMA’s biggest star, Conor McGregor, in a fight that had the whole world watching.
But Putin had to wait. Khabib had jumped into the crowd to fight McGregor’s teammate, Dillon Danis, causing a ruckus. Clearing the scene needed a lot of bodies. The aftermath? Stiff fines for all involved. The biggest hit? Khabib, who lost a whopping $500,000 from his fight purse.
UFC CEO White spills the beans. Putin’s phone call was just the beginning. The Russian president had a lavish gift for Khabib and his late father, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov.
White recounts, “Khabib hadn’t even made it back to his dressing room, and Putin was on the phone.” The gift? Property in Russia worth $20 million. And that’s not all. Khabib was showered with cars, money, gyms, you name it, in the Muslim territories.
Some of these gifts were documented. Like the swanky Mercedes from Putin ally and now-sanctioned Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov. His obsession with MMA and alliances with UFC fighters later caught the U.S. State Department’s attention. The $20 million real estate gift? That was news.
Khabib was no stranger to Putin’s generosity, though. Karim Zidan from Bloody Elbow reports that most of his training camps were funded by Russian oligarch and Putin buddy Ziyavudin Magomedov. He was later arrested for allegedly embezzling state funds to the tune of about $180 million.
Fast forward six years. Khabib is retired and has resisted White’s attempts to lure him back into the octagon. White says money is why McGregor isn’t making a comeback either.
“Once you reach Nurmagomedov’s level of fame, it’s like Conor McGregor,” White explains. “McGregor lives in a yacht somewhere warm. Once you reach that level, you’re not keen on getting punched in the face anymore.”
White hints that Khabib’s exit from MMA – a promise to his mother after his father’s death – cost him the title of MMA GOAT.
“The GOAT is Jon Jones,” White declares. “Jon Jones is undefeated. Khabib is undefeated too, but I would’ve liked to see Khabib do more.”