Khabib Nurmagomedov watched Steph Curry torch the Toronto Raptors then received a surprise gift from the two-time NBA MVP after the game.
When the Golden State Warriors faced the Toronto Raptors at the Scotiabank Arena last Friday, the Raptors had a special guest seating courtside.
Former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov took time out from his busy schedule to watch the greatest shooter in the history of the game perform in Toronto. Safe to say Khabib did not go home disappointed.
Despite playing for the second straight night, Curry knocked down 7 three-pointers en route to 25 points with 6 rebounds, and 6 assists in 30 minutes of action as the Warriors defeated the Raptors 120-105 in Curry’s first game North of the Border since Game 5 of the 2019 NBA Finals.
After the game, Curry took off his game-worn jersey and took a pen to write a special message to the former UFC champ. “To Khabib, All Love, Champ!!” penned Curry on his white Golden State Warriors #30 jersey before meeting Khabib on the court. After a short conversation between the two champions, Curry gifted Khabib the signed jersey, much to the happiness of the retired mixed martial artist.
Nurmagomedov is considered one of the greatest mixed martial artists of all time. The Dagestani-born Khabib captured the UFC lightweight title by defeating Al Iaquinta at UFC 223 in 2018. He made only three title defenses but these were against the biggest names in the sport – Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier, and Justin Gaethje. He retired immediately after beating Gaethje at UFC 254 and finished his MMA career with a perfect 29-0 record
Although Khabib is known for his dominance inside the MMA cage, he plays basketball back home, although he says he isn’t as good as NBA great Michael Jordan.
“I really want to meet Michael Jordan… I just watch, I play basketball but not like Michael Jordan… With Michael Jordan, I just watched a month ago his documentary. Because I’m working on my documentary and it was very interesting. My friend advised me, ‘You have to watch this.’ Very impressive. Before his documentary, I didn’t know about him much…. I just know Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player and that’s it. … It was very impressive for me to watch and I really want to meet this guy.”
Khabib on the Full Send podcast
Nurmagomedov even went as far as telling the podcast hosts that he would give them three sheep if they could help arrange a meeting with Jordan. It’s unclear whether Khabib got to meet Jordan because no such news appears on the internet. But last week, Khabib finally got face to face with an NBA legend and even got an unexpected gift from the Warriors’ superstar.