Khabib Nurmagomedov’s UFC 229 victory tour has taken him around the world over the past few weeks, where he rubbed shoulders with high profile politicians and world leaders. Most recently, the UFC lightweight champion met Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Istanbul.
The meeting took place at the soft opening of Istanbul’s new international airport, which Nurmagomedov was invited to. Nurmagomedov and Erdogan were pictured shaking hands while surrounded by dozens of onlookers. The UFC fighter posted the picture on his Instagram account with the caption: “Very nice to meet you.”
Nurmagomedov’s meeting with Erdogan is his latest high profile encounter since defeating Conor McGregor via fourth round submission at UFC 229. Over the past few weeks, Nurmagomedov has had meetings with Russian president Vladimir Putin, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov — who awarded Nurmagomedov honorary Chechen citizenship — Sheikh Diab Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a member of the UAE royal family, as well as the president of Kyrgyzstan, Sooronbay Jeenbekov.
Apart from his encounters with world leaders, Nurmagomedov has also called out Floyd Mayweather to determine the true “king of the jungle” and promised to leave the UFC if his teammate and fellow UFC fighter, Zubaira Tukhugov, was released due to his role in the UFC 229 post-fight brawl. While it appears that Nurmagomedov and the UFC have come to an agreement, it remains unclear when the champion will return to the Octagon to defend his title.
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