Widely regarded as one of the greatest football players in history, Cristiano Ronaldo seems to be on a spree of forging a bond with the MMA sphere. Last month, Francis Ngannou was in the receiving end of it. The PFL Super Fights heavyweight champion was in Saudi Arabia to watch his former boxing opponent, Tyson Fury, take on Oleksandr Usyk in a three-belt rematch at Riyadh’s Kingdom Arena. Ronaldo, who relocated to the Middle East in January 2023 after agreeing to leave Manchester United for Saudi Pro League side Al Nassr, invited ‘The Predator’ to his home.

Ngannou had later shared a video of him and Ronaldo with his 7.1 million Instagram followers. It showed him holding shirts while his football friend signed memorabilia the Cameroonian KO artist plans to add to his collection. “Getting some collectibles for my collection from the man himself, @cristiano. Thank you brother for dinner,” Ngannou captioned the post. Now, one more UFC fighter probably got himself similar collectibles from the 5x Ballon d’Or winner.

This Wednesday, UFC Saudi Arabia’s co-main eventer, Sharaputdin Magomedov had the opportunity to meet Ronaldo. In fact, the Russian was so impressed by the meetup that he couldn’t help but keep on praising Ronaldo, giving him a title that no one saw coming.

Sharaputdin Magomedov met ‘CR7’ and even exchanged shirts with the idol during a visit to the CT Training Center of Al Nassr, the Saudi club for which the Portuguese star currently plays. After the meetup, Magomedov revealed in a recent press conference that he has immense respect for the Real Madrid legend. Praising the $600 million footballer’s generosity, he even coined him as the ‘Pound-for-pound best in all respects.’

He said, “I think Cristiano is a great role model in terms of what he’s been promoting. Helping those who are in need, He’s been also vocal about those things that are not healthy. He really helps a lot of people who found themselves in trouble. He donates a lot of money to charity. That’s what really defines his true nature. He’s the pound-for-pound best in all respects.” It is worth noting that their meetup was more than a usual meet-and-greet like we often see. Instead, their interaction was so fun that a video of it is going viral on the internet.

The footage of the Russian fighter’s visit to the Al Nassr CT (Training Center), uploaded by the club’s social media page, shows ‘Bullet’s’ excitement when he met his idol. Magomedov and Ronaldo laughed as they immediately got into a fight stance. The footage shows both men pretending to throw punches and kicks at each other before the UFC star did something fans thought he never would. ‘Bullet’ playfully shot for a takedown on the soccer legend before they embraced and began chatting. The 41-second video shows Ronaldo signing shirts for the UFC contender. Notably, Ronaldo had once got his support from the UFC realm from none other than Conor McGregor.

Last year in July, The Al-Nassr star broke down in tears after failing to convert a penalty in the first half of extra-time in the Euro 2024 round of 16 clash between Portugal and Slovenia. The MMA star took to Instagram to upload a photograph of a sobbing Ronaldo and wrote in the caption, “True passion for country! Cristiano, you are the greatest football player to grace this earth! God bless you, brother! The past is glory! The present is history!” Now that Ronaldo is on good terms with Shara, will we get to see Ronaldo attending UFC Saudi Arabia?

Cristiano Ronaldo’s presence guaranteed at UFC Saudi Arabia by Sharaputdin Magomedov

It wasn’t just a T-shirt and memorabilia that Sharaputdin Magomedov left with after meeting his idol. During the conversation with the Portuguese player, the Russian also managed to extract the information that Cristiano Ronaldo will be present at the ANB Arena in Riyadh to follow the UFC Saudi Arabia card. He said, “Cristiano Ronaldo told me that I can become a UFC world champion. He will come to the event and will be cheering me on in the fight against Michael ‘Venom’ Page.”

It is worth noting that this is not Cristiano Ronaldo’s first interaction with MMA athletes; quite the opposite. A declared fan of this sport, the Portuguese star has even stated at times that he prefers to watch a UFC fight than a football match. In addition, CR7 also has a good relationship with Khabib Nurmagomedov, the former champion and UFC Hall of Famer.

With Ronaldo’s support, Sharaputdin Magomedov will be in action this Saturday in the co-main event of UFC Saudi Arabia. In the contest, the Russian middleweight will face the experienced English fighter Michael ‘Venom’ Page, who enters the fight with the mission of ending Magomedov’s undefeated streak in professional MMA. Do you think ‘Bullet’ will be able to win the fight? Let us know in the comments.