UFC Hall of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov was spotted alongside Norwegian football star Erling Haaland.
The Manchester City star was in Abu Dhabi where the English champions have set up their warm-weather training camp. In a video shared by Nurmagomdedov on Instagram, the former lightweight titleholder can be seen teaching Arabic to Haaland and his teammates, Ederson and Rodri.
Just two GOAT’s hanging around
@ErlingHaaland
— UFC on TNT Sports (@ufcontnt) January 23, 2024
The 23-year-old Man City forward re-joined the club’s training on Monday as he prepares to return to action following a lengthy layoff. Haaland missed the last nine matches, including five Premier League games, due to a bone stress injury in his foot.
Khabib Nurmagomedov’s Rumored Return at UFC 300
As for Nurmagomedov, the undefeated MMA icon has kept himself busy after walking away from the sport with an incredible 29-0 record in 2021. Recently, former UFC title challenger Chael Sonnen claimed that ‘The Eagle’ was being courted for a return to the Octagon at UFC 300 to face reigning welterweight world champion Leon Edwards.
However, Nurmagomedov’s longtime coach, Javier Mendez, poured cold water all over those rumors, claiming that there was absolutely no truth to the statement and subsequent reports.
“I’m just letting you guys know that, you know, stop all this nonsense regarding Khabib coming back and me and him training,” coach Mendez said in reference to Khabib’s return. “There’s been no such thing happening.”
“We’re not discussing training, we never have. Khabib is still devoted to what he said. He’s devoting his time to his family, he’s not working people’s corners, he’s not going to ever fight. To my knowledge, it’s never been spoken about. And to my knowledge, he’s been here the past few days. He just left yesterday from Dubai.”