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Cristiano Ronaldo loses at UFC Fight Night in Saudi Arabia

The Al Nassr striker and former Real Madrid icon was in attendance as Nassourdine Imanov defeated Israel Adesanya in the main event.

The Al Nassr striker and former Real Madrid icon was in attendance as Nassourdine Imanov defeated Israel Adesanya in the main event.
FAYEZ NURELDINEAFP

Cristiano Ronaldo was a VIP guest at UFC Fight Night at the ANB Arena in Riyadh, watching on as Nassourdine Imanov sensationally defeated Israel Adesanya in the main event.

Imanov defeats Adesanya to enter UFC title picture

The Frenchman’s statement knockout win over the former UFC champion means he will surely be in contention for a title fight before much longer. Current holder Dricus Du Plessis faces a middleweight title rematch against Sean Strickland next week (Saturday, February 8) in Sydney, Australia.

Ronaldo’s main interest, however, was in Shara Magomedov’s co-main event fight against Michael Page.

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Ronaldo and Magomedov link-up

The Portuguese star has become friends with the Russian and the pair took part in a special promo before the fight, in which the mixed martial artist posed with two Al Nassr shirts, one with each of their names on the back.

“You are a great pride for us, athletes, thank you for your time, you gave me great motivation, I’m waiting for you on February 1st at my UFC fight in Saudi Arabia,” Magomedov posted on Instagram.

In an earlier interview, the 30-year-old had previously revealed “Cristiano told me he believes in my potential and that he would come to support me in the fight.”

Magomedov suffers first defeat despite Ronaldo support

Unfortunately for Magomedov, Ronaldo’s support proved to be a curse rather than a blessing. The Russian suffered his first defeat in the UFC since making his debut in 2017.

Page scored a unanimous decision victory over Magomedov at the end of a tense, tactical battle, which leaves the Russian with an overall 15-1 record.

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