Umar Nurmagomedov shares inspiring words
from Zlatan Ibrahimović 🐺🔥“I’ve seen your fights, don’t give up. Everything’s ahead of you.
You’re still young, you’ve got everything in front of you. Keep
training.’ The fact that Ibrahimović knows who I am — I was
shocked.”Advertisement
🎥:… pic.twitter.com/kSeTwufxQq
— Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA)
June 16, 2025
Umar
Nurmagomedov was surprised that Zlatan Ibrahimovic even knew
him when they crossed paths.
The Nurmagomedovs have always shared a deep love for soccer, with
Khabib
Nurmagomedov even choosing it as his other love besides MMA.
His cousin Umar, following in his footsteps, was in attendance at
the San Siro Stadium in Milan, Italy, for an AC Milan match earlier
this year. The
UFC bantamweight was lucky enough to have a chat with the Milan
legend. Coming off a failed title bid against Merab
Dvalishvili, Nurmagomedov received words of encouragement from
Ibrahimovic.
“I got to talk to Ibrahimovic, too,” Nurmagomedov told Adam
Zubayraev. “Well, we didn’t have much time to chat, just like
30-40 minutes. But even in that short time, you could tell, he’s
the kind of person who talks a lot about mindset. And that’s a huge
part of being an athlete, not just in football, in any sport. He’s
got a strong personality. And he said, ‘I’ve seen your fights,
don’t give up. Everything’s ahead of you. You’re still young,
you’ve got everything in front of you. Keep training.’ Words of
real encouragement. The fact that Ibrahimović knows who I am, I was
shocked.”
Known for his flashy performances, Ibrahimovic has been a
show-stealing striker throughout his career. The former Ajax,
Juventus, Inter Milan, Barcelona, PSG, and Man United forward even
had a brief stint with the LA Galaxy in Major League Soccer. The
43-year-old Swede retired in 2023 and has since joined AC Milan in
an advisory role.
Meanwhile, Nurmagomedov’s undefeated record was blemished for the
first time by his loss against Dvalishvili at UFC 311
this past January. Nurmagomedov seemingly broke his hand in the
very first round of that fight and has since been sidelined. The
29-year-old is now recovered and back in training, hoping for a
rematch against Dvalishvili sometime in the near future.