Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Khabib Nurmagomedov retained his Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Lightweight title this past weekend by dominating Dustin Poirier in the main event of UFC 242, which went down at The Arena on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
What made the victory more special for “The Eagle” was that his father was able to corner him for the first time in a long time — visa issues didn’t prevent him from missing out on another one of his son’s fights. But, papa Nurmagomedov wasn’t the only happy one, as all of Khabib’s community in Dagestan was overjoyed with their hometown hero’s performance and victory, taking to the streets en masse to celebrate.
UFC President Dana White posted video footage of a massive traffic jam as the fans were out in full force. Indeed, Khabib is without a doubt one of — if not the — biggest celebrity in Russia at the moment (other than Vladimir Putin, of course). I mean, when is the last time you saw an entire city celebrate an MMA fighter’s victory as if they had just won the Super Bowl?
UFC has a star in Khabib, and it would truly be a shame if it doesn’t bring him to fight in his home country before he decides to retire for good. UFC will return to Russia later this year, as the promotion is set to stage UFC Fight Night 163 in Moscow on Nov. 9, 2019, which will feature a Heavyweight fight between Alexander Volkov and Junior dos Santos.
For more on that fight click here.