UFC star Khabib signs up with Al Wahda

Abu Dhabi football club Al Wahda, yesterday, welcomed UFC champion Khabib Nurmagomedov to their newly refurbished Al Nahyan Stadium in the capital.

Nicknamed the Eagle, Khabib toured the club along with Ahmad Al Rumaithi, Chairman Al Wahda Football Company, Khalid Al Hinai, Chairman of Al Wahda Sports and Games Company, and Abdul Rahman Al Daheri, Chairman of Al Wahda Investment Company, and Abdullah Salem Al Junaibi, CEO of Al Wahda Football Company.

Al Wahda Sports Company also signed an academic cooperation agreement with Khabib after meeting the jiu-jitsu players from the club and imparting some vital tips. He also met the Al Wahda Under-21 football players.

Along with a welcoming video, the Arabian Gulf League’s Twitter account posted pictures of the Russian fighter posing with officials and fans and he was presented with his own Al Wahda shirt.

Khabib is a firm favourite among fight fans in the UAE and is rumoured to be planning a fight with undefeated boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor will remain suspended pending full investigation of the melee following UFC 229, Nevada combat sports regulators said. The Nevada State Athletic Commission voted unanimously on the suspensions, with chairman Anthony Marnell ordering both fighters to be present at a December 10 hearing.

Russia’s Nurmagomedov and Ireland’s McGregor had already been suspended for 10 days — the maximum term fighters can be banned pending a hearing. The sanctions stem from the extraordinary post-fight brawl that erupted after unbeaten Nurmagomedov choked out McGregor on October 6 in Las Vegas.

Nurmagomedov had barely released his hold after McGregor tapped out when the Russian launched himself over the Octagon fence, targeting a taunting member of McGregor’s camp.