October 08, 2022, 04:51 AM
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Khabib Nurmagomedov was in Singapore over the 2022 F1 night race weekend.
The 34-year-old Russian former professional mixed martial artist, who was undefeated in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), was seen visiting the Marina Bay area, according to photos and videos uploaded to Instagram.
A photo of Khabib dressed in black t-shirt and bermuda shorts posing in front of Marina Bay Sands with his mate and fellow Russian mixed martial artist, Shamil Zavurov, received 500,000 likes on Instagram.
The Russian caption on Khabib's post read, "Akkuratno", which translates to "shipshape" and "neatly arranged".
Shamil posted other photos and videos of him and Khabib visiting Gardens By The Bay and the Flower Dome.
Shamil's post on Oct. 3 said Khabib was in Singapore over the weekend, which was the F1 night race weekend over Sep. 30 to Oct. 2.
No fanfare
Khabib's presence here was apparently low-key and without fanfare.
In the videos showing Khabib visiting Gardens By The Bay, he was seen without an entourage and it appeared no one recognised him when he walked past other visitors in the public areas.
Background
With 33.6 million Instagram followers, Khabib is the second-most popular Muslim athlete in the world, behind only the Egyptian footballer Mohamed Salah -- a feat considering the social media platform is banned in Russia.
Hailing from the Republic of Dagestan in Russia, he is the first Muslim to win a UFC title.
He competed in the lightweight division of promotion and remained undefeated throughout his time there, raking up a professional record of 29-0.
He was the longest-reigning UFC Lightweight Champion, having held the title from April 2018 to March 2021.
Khabib's superstar status was sealed on Oct. 6, 2018, when he fought trash-talking Irishman Conor McGregor, arguably MMA's biggest star, in Las Vegas -- and won in dominant fashion.
The fight will always be remembered for the melee that broke out between the two camps after Khabib made McGregor tap out -- and the Russian jumped over the octagon cage to confront the Irish side.Multiple fights broke out inside and outside the arena between the people from both corners, as well as between fans from opposing sides.
It was also the first fight that Khabib lost a round in the UFC, but he broke the record by extending his run to 27-0 after that match -- which was then the longest win streak in UFC history.
Four days after the fight, Khabib and his father met with Russian president Vladimir Putin, who extended his congratulations to the Dagestani for beating McGregor.
Khabib retired from MMA after his final fight on Oct. 24, 2020.
It was the first fight without his late father, who passed away from Covid-19 complications at age 57, less than four months earlier on July 3.
Top photos via Khabib Nurmagomedov Instagram & Wikipedia
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