"I really want to meet Michael Jordan" - Khabib Nurmagomedov reveals his desire to meet the NBA icon, explains the unique way he plays the sport of basketball
Michael Jordan is one of the most influential athletes in history and his fame even transcends to a sport like mixed martial arts. In a recent interview, former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov revealed that he wants to meet Jordan in the future.
Nurmagomedov was a guest on "FULL SEND PODCAST" with Bob Menery and Kyle Forgeard to promote his new fighting promotion called Eagle Fighting Championship or EFC for short. Nurmagomedov was asked by the hosts if there's someone he's yet to meet that he would like to meet someday, to which he responded by naming the NBA legend.
"I really want to meet Michael Jordan," Nurmagomedov said.
The man known as "The Eagle" also revealed that he recently watched Jordan's documentary "The Last Dance" in preparation for his own documentary. Nurmagomedov noted that he knows MJ is the greatest basketball player, but does not know much about the NBA because it's not popular in his hometown of Dagestan, Russia.
With Michael Jordan, I just watch like a month ago I watch his documentary because I am working on my documentary and it was very interesting to watch. My friend advised me like you have to watch this you know, it’s like very impressive. Like before his documentary, I didn’t know about him much. I just know Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player, that’s it," Nurmagomedov said.
In addition to his desire to meet Jordan, Khabib also explained the type of basketball they play in Dagestan, where the rules differ slightly. He revealed that they don't dribble conventionally up and down the court, instead they run with ball in hand, passing from player to player as the opposition looks to physically wrestle for the ball to gain possession.
It is a unique take on the sport and is certainly interesting to watch. You can check out a clip of Nurmagomedov playing Dagestani basketball below.
I could watch Khabib play basketball all day. Tip toe game on point. https://t.co/d7ycatEQm7
Michael Jordan was once offered to have a boxing match during his first retirement
Since we're on the topic of fighting, did you know that "His Airness" Michael Jordan was offered to fight in a boxing match when he retired in 1994? The Chicago Tribune revealed that Boxing promoter Dan Duva once offered Jordan $15 million to fight the winner of the Evander Holyfield-Michael Moorer match.
The boxing match was supposed to be for the world championship, but Jordan turned down the offer, as Jordan was friends with Holyfield. However, it was not the first time a promoter tried to make a bout between a boxer and basketball player. Back in the 1960s, Muhammad Ali came really close to fighting Wilt Chamberlain.
Back in 1994, Jordan retired from basketball and tried to make it as a baseball player for the Chicago White Sox. Jordan failed in baseball and he was back on the hardwood a year later. Meanwhile, Holyfield went on to lose to Moorer in their fight via a majority decision.
It was a really wise decision on the part of Michael Jordan not to accept the fight. It would have been dangerous, especially for someone who is not a trained boxer. The match could have caused him catastrophic injuries which might have prevented Jordan from winning those three straight NBA championships(1996-98) after coming out of retirement.