After Islam Makhachev‘s UFC 302 victory Dustin Poirier, Donald Trump, and Khabib Nurmagomedov were seen having an amicable interaction where both men were all smiles. Nurmagomedov’s former manager and friend, Ali Abdelaziz has revealed what the former President said to ‘The Eagle’, who is one of the greatest mixed martial artists of all time. Nurmagomedov was, of course, cornering Makhachev for the Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey bout.

Abdelaziz posted a picture of him, Trump, and Nurmagomedov together. In the caption, he claimed that the presumptive Republican nominee for the 2024 Presidential election told the former UFC champ that he was his favorite fighter, which would undoubtedly come as a blow to Jorge Masvidal and Colby Covington, who are fervent supporters of the New York native.

“I had the pleasure today seeing President Trump again with the @khabib_nurmagomedov . President Trump told Khabib he is his favorite fighter of all time. InshaaAllah only positive things can happen,” he captioned the post.

Khabib Nurmagomedov, for his part, also looked delighted to meet the former President, and knowing that he was his favorite fighter must have felt good. While the Dagestani is certainly very popular and loved in America, he has run into some serious issues back home in his native Russia.

Khabib in $3.3 million tax trouble back in the motherland

A few weeks ago news broke that shocked the MMA world. Khabib Nurmagomedov, of course, is one of the most well-regarded people in the entire combat sports landscape. His respectful, dignified demeanor, disciplined lifestyle, extraordinary work ethic, and the way he carries himself out of the Octagon have made him one of the best role models in the fight game.

This is why everyone was shocked when reports emerged that the Dagestani had been accused by the Russian tax authorities of non-payment of $3.3 million (or over 600 million rubles) in taxes. As a first step, the accounts belonging to many of his companies, including his (now almost defunct) fight promotion, ‘Eagle FC’ were frozen.

While the former lightweight champion has not directly addressed the charges, Russian news outlet ‘Mash’ quoted members of his team as saying these charges were baseless. Since then, there have not been any real updates on the story and what Nurmagomedov and his legal team are doing about it is still unknown. Perhaps a journalist will take advantage of his presence in America and ask him directly. As of now, it has not been reported that any formal charges have been filed against the former fighter, and nothing could be said for certain one way or the other.

Check out the full results of UFC 302 here. (Watch This Space for more)