Khabib Nurmagomedov is one of the greatest MMA stars of all-time, and is a role model for many youngsters.

The Russian finished his career undefeated, but his values regarding family, religion and more have added another layer to his legacy.

Many current MMA athletes also look up to Nurmagomedov as a role model, but ‘The Eagle’ also had a couple of sporting heroes while growing up.

The former UFC star was asked about several topics by popular Instagram account Khann-Journey. While there was some mix-up regarding Nurmagomedov’s current situation as he didn’t understand a question, there was no doubting who the retired star looked up to.

Nurmagomedov claimed that the two sporting heroes for him were Brazilian soccer legend Ronaldo Nazario and boxing legend Muhammad Ali:

“If you talk about athletes, I can say Brazilian Ronaldo, Muhammad Ali. That’s just two guys.”

Check out Khabib Nurmagomedov‘s message below:

Muhammad Ali needs no introduction. Many consider him as the greatest sportsperson ever, forget boxer, and his beliefs led him to clash with the US Government over the Vietnam War. He was stripped of his titles and was deemed a draft evader. He didn’t fight for four years, which was part of his prime, as he fought the decision by the US by appealing to the Supreme Court.

Ali is a former heavyweight champion and held several records, and also fought in some of the biggest boxing matches in the history of the sport.

Ronaldo, on the other hand, is one of the greatest soccer stars ever. The Brazilian played as a striker and represented several top clubs such as Barcelona, Inter Milan, AC Milan and Real Madrid.

Ronaldo had incredible football and physicality, but his prime was cut short with several knee injuries. While the 49-year-old won several individual awards, a FIFA World Cup and many league titles, it could have been a lot more had he not been unlucky with injuries.

Former UFC fighter highlights Khabib Nurmagomedov’s humility with inspirational story

Jake Shields once shared an incredible insight about Khabib Nurmagomedov. While Shields’ MMA days are done, he still shares stories and updates from that world, and had one about ‘The Eagle’ in 2024.

Shields highlighted how Nurmagomedov was more than willing to do work that rookies would do, and shared that the Dagestani was on the cusp of UFC glory:

“When I would train with Kahabib in San Jose he would often be the guy mopping the mats [this is usually done by rookies]. This was right before he won the title but I’m pretty sure I also saw him moping in Vegas after he was already a champion. This sets a great example to his team that he’s not above them.”