00:00, 28 July 2021

Dagestani fighter Khabib Nurmagomedov tops Russian Forbes star rating

Khabib Nurmagomedov. Photo by the Office of the President of Russia Phttps://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Khabib_Nurmagomedov

The Dagestan mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter, Khabib Nurmagomedov, has overtaken other Russian celebrities in terms of references in media and the number of subscribers in social networks, the Forbes has calculated.

The rating is compiled based on stars' incomes and their popularity. In terms of incomes, Nurmagomedov lost only to the hockey player, Alexander Ovechkin, and just slightly - USD 12.2 million for Ovechkin versus USD 12 million for Khabib. The fighter became the absolute leader in terms of the number of followers on the Instagram and YouTube (29.2 million) and mentions in the media (103,389). There are 50 people on the list in total.

In July, Nurmagomedov was named the best MMA fighter of the year according to the ESPN ESPYS Awards. This year, the UAE began selling premium-class alkaline water PH Top by Khabib, which is planned to be shipped to all the countries of the Persian Gulf.

Nurmagomedov has already completed his sports career, although in May the head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, offered him to fight a Chechen athlete for an unprecedented for Russia remuneration of USD 6 million. Khabib ignored the challenge.

In April 2018, Khabib became the first ever Russian in the UFC with a champion title. In October 2020, he defeated the American, Justin Gaethje, to defend his UFC lightweight title. After that, Nurmagomedov said that he was ending his fighting career, explaining this with a promise given to his mother.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on July 28, 2021 at 11:00 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.

Source: CK correspondent