Images of Khabib Nurmagomedov and his late father appear on Twin Towers in host city for World Cup final

Khabib Nurmagomedov is an enormous football fan and a die-hard Real Madrid supporter. 'The Eagle' was part of an Etihad Airways commercial advertising the FIFA World Cup several months ago, and now it appears he has arrived in Qatar for the remaining matches.

Yesterday, Lusail, host to the World Cup final, paid tribute to both 'The Eagle' and his late father Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov. Images of the father-son pair were beamed onto the Al Jaber Twin Towers and could be seen from miles away.

Images were posted on Twitter by @Natalia96058112, who said the following:

"Images of former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and his late father and trainer Abdulmanap appeared on the Al Jaber Twin Towers in the suburbs of the Qatari capital Luceil, which will host the World Cup final."

See the post below:

Images of former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and his late father and trainer Abdulmanap appeared on the Al Jaber Twin Towers in the suburbs of the Qatari capital Luceil, which will host the World Cup final. https://t.co/YngwIXARHQ

Khabib Nurmagomedov shared an incredibly close bond with his father, who guided him throughout his entire combat sports career. 'The Eagle' famously retired following his father's tragic passing in 2020 after defeating Justin Gaethje at UFC 254.

The Dagestani fighter promised his mother he would not continue to fight following the death of his father, and 'The Eagle' has stood by his commitment.

Khabib Nurmagomedov on Zabit Magomedsharipov's retirement: "He didn't promise his mother"

Zabit Magomedsharipov might be one of the biggest what-ifs in the history of the UFC. The 31-year-old displayed one of the most well-rounded and technically sound fighting styles the MMA community had seen when he arrived in the UFC five years ago.

The Russian holds an undefeated record of 6-0 in the promotion and looked destined for a title fight as he reached as high as No.3 in the featherweight rankings. But following an extended hiatus from the sport, beginning in 2019 due to health issues, Magomedsharipov called an end to his MMA career in June this year.

Khabib Nurmagomedov and Magomedsharipov are good friends, but 'The Eagle' stated at Eagle FC 51 that he has not spoken to the former fighter about the retirement announcement.

Nurmagomedov was interviewed at the event by Red Corner MMA, where he stated the following about Magomedsharipov's retirement:

"We are good friends and always talk, but we didn't discuss his retirement. I think he left for personal reasons, it'll be interesting to talk to him about it."

When asked if Magomedsharipov would return to the sport, Khabib Nurmagomedov said:

"Unlike me, he didn't promise his mother. If you pique his interest anything is possible."

Watch the interview below:

👀 '@zabeast_mma didn’t make a promise to his mother'

📺 Watch our one-on-one talk with @TeamKhabib on our YouTube channel https://t.co/NO84tVzkwj