Football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo has encouraged Khamzat Chimaev to ‘smesh everybody’ ahead of the Chechen’s proposed welterweight matchup with Gilbert Burns at UFC 273.
Chimaev isn’t necessarily a huge fan of soccer football, but the surging UFC welterweight knows talent when he sees it.
‘Borz’ said Ronaldo messaged him back on social media after he reached out to the Manchester United striker and invited him to his next fight.
Ronaldo can’t make it, unfortunately, but the Portuguese fan favorite did wish Chimaev good luck.
“He has a game that’s why he said he could not come. But he’s going to watch my fight, Chimaev said, per Sportskeeda.
“When [Ronaldo] started following me, I wrote to him, he’s the champ. Then he wrote ‘SMESH EVERYBODY’. 100% brother. Then I invited him to my fight. I’m not a big fan of football, but this guy is big. One of the best guys in the world in football. He’s a nice guy.”
Chimaev is 4-0 in the Octagon since making his UFC debut in 2020 and has quickly become one of the promotion’s fastest-growing stars.
The No. 11-ranked welterweight is expected to return to the Octagon against former title challenger Burns on April 9 — though the matchup has yet to be confirmed. Expect an official announcement from the UFC in the coming weeks.
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