Islam Makhachev gives hilarious insight on Khabib Nurmagomedov's soccer skills
Islam Makhachev claims to be better than Khabib Nurmagomedov at soccer.
Makhachev was recently seen playing basketball, badminton and table tennis ahead of his upcoming title fight against Charles Oliveira.
Adam Catterall of BT Sport recently asked the lightweight contender about the best players in his team in all three sports. Makhachev proclaimed himself to be the best at basketball but admitted to being beaten once in badminton. According to the Dagestani contender, it is essential to try other sports as training only in MMA can be exhausting at times.
While Makhachev claims to be good at many different sports, he believes that his predecessor Khabib Nurmagomedov isn't very good at soccer even though he is the one who is always filmed playing. However, he accepted that 'The Eagle' has extensive knowledge of the game. Makhachev told Catterall:
"In my professional career I changed many different sports and that's why I play basketball good, I play soccer good. And you know, they always film when Khabib play but he know about soccer too much but he's not a good player."
When asked if he is better than 'The Eagle' at soccer, Makhachev added:
"Of course, of course, even right now he's a 95 kilo."
Watch Islam Makhachev's interview with BT Sport below:
When Hasbulla jokingly accused Khabib Nurmagomedov of cheating in a soccer match
Khabib Nurmagomedov's love for soccer has been well documented over the course of his career. 'The Eagle' admittedly would have taken up soccer professionally if not for MMA.
As Islam Makhachev goes into his lightweight title fight against Charles Oliveira, the entire Dagestani camp was seen playing a friendly soccer match. Nurmagomedov, who was seemingly the captain of one team, scored two goals in the match, of which one was a penalty.
Nurmagomedov's team eventually emerged victorious with a 5-2 margin. However, Hasbulla, who's also a part of the Dagestani camp, was supporting the opposing team, seemingly captained by 'The Eagle's cousin, Usman Nurmagomedov.
After the fight, Hasbulla jokingly accused the UFC Hall of Famer of having paid off the referee. The teenage internet sensation from Dagestan asked Nurmagomedov:
"You paid the referee? How much you pay him?"
The former lightweight champion replied:
"Don't judge people by yourself. If you walk in with Rolexes and buy people... We are not like that."
Watch Hasbulla's interaction with Khabib Nurmagomedov (17:10) below: