Khabib Nurmagomedov received a generous reward from dictator Putin after his win over McGregor. According to the UFC boss, it changed his life

Khabib Nurmagomedov is one of the best fighters in history. He ended his career perhaps too soon, but he ended it undefeated. He could have afforded it. Not just because he became a UFC star. According to the organization’s head, Dana White, Vladimir Putin changed his life.

He was 32 years old, at the height of his career and popularity. With a 29-0 record, he’d conquered the MMA world. He beat Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje. Other milestones could still await him. But instead of continuing to write a great sporting legacy, he decided to retire.

Still, Khabib Nurmagomedov is one of the best fighters in history. He could have been sovereignly and unquestionably the best, but he lacks the great number of defenses that Jon Jones, for example, boasts.

Nevertheless, the Dagestani phenomenon boasts an outstanding legacy. During his time in the UFC, he ranked among the world’s sports stars, coming into big money. The organization’s boss Dana White tried to convince him to return with a much more generous reward, but failed.

However, it is precisely according to the head of the UFC that Khabib Nurmagomedov could afford to refuse even because the dictator Vladimir Putin changed his life. He did, in fact, reward the Russian fighter appropriately after his fight with Conor McGregor.

Khabib Nurmagomedov owes his change of life to Putin

“After the fight Khabib didn’t even have time to return to his dressing room and Putin was waiting for him on the phone. He gave him and his father a fortune worth about $20 million. Then Khabib went to Muslim territory where there are guys who have cars, money, gyms and whatever they want,” opined Dana White on the Games with Names podcast.

Several of the gifts Khabib Nurmagomedov received from the Russian dictator have been documented as well. It is worth noting that in addition to Putin, Chechen dictator Ramzan Kadyrov, about whom much has been written in connection with combat sports, has also been around the star fighter.

According to journalist Karim Zidan, who specialises in such topics, most of the training camps were financed by Russian oligarch and Putin’s friend Ziyavudin Magomedov, who was later arrested for allegedly embezzling around $180 million in state funds.

Source: MMA Fighting, UFC, Games with Names