Over the weekend, UFC fighter Khabib Nurmagomedov proved to be a real champion after defeating Dustin Poirier in a headline title unification bout at UFC 242 in Abu Dhabi.
The Russian mixed martial artist left The Arena on Yas Island as a winner and seemed to be pretty happy with the UAE as a destination.
"I love this region. I've been in Turkey, Europe, Russia, even Dagestan, [the] US, Brazil, Canada, Mexico," he said after his fight.
"I've been everywhere. But this place – the Emirates, Abu Dhabi, Dubai – is the safest place in the world. This is an amazing place."
He even made it clear that he'd be more than happy to come back to the Emirati capital for another fight.
"I want to come back here, maybe next year. Why not? Because UFC have already made an exclusive contract with Abu Dhabi and next year they're going to make another show here, too. We'll see," he added.
More than 13,000 people attended the fight in Abu Dhabi. As soon as Nurmagomedov won, he embraced his father.
On Monday, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, welcomed both the UFC fighter and his father at Qasr Al Bahr. Nurmagomedov's team also accompanied him at the event.
"It was great meeting with HH Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Thank you for inviting us, it was honor [sic]," the UFC fighter, who retained the World Champion title in the UFC Lightweight category, wrote in a caption on Instagram.
Sheikh Mohamed congratulated the Russian mixed martial artist and even shared a few posts on his official social media channels.
In a one-minute video posted on the crown prince's official Instagram account, Sheikh Mohammad Bin Zayed can be seen greeting Khabib and other delegates, senior officials, and UAE citizens.
Who knows when Nurmagomedov will be back in the Emirati capital, but it seems he won't be gone for long.