Cristiano Ronaldo has sent a message to UFC star Khamzat Chimaev telling him to "smesh everybody" ahead of his planned April return.
Chimaev has made a huge impact in the promotion earning rave reviews for his performances after his four appearances in the octagon.
The rising star is planning to continue his welterweight rise this year and is set to face Gilbert Burns in a proposed match-up that will take place in April.
The Swedish star has revealed that he was sent a reply by Ronaldo on social media after he contacted him but the Portuguese star will be unable to attend the fight.
“When [Ronaldo] started following me, I wrote to him, he’s the champ.," Chimaev said. "Then he wrote ‘Smesh everybody’. 100% brother.
"Then I invited him to my fight. I’m not a big fan of football, but this guy is big. One of the best guys in the world in football. He’s a nice guy.
“He has a game that’s why he said he could not come. But he’s going to watch my fight.”
Ronaldo has had a tough time in recent weeks after his return to Manchester United has turned sour, having not scored in 2022 until he netted against Brighton recently, but that remains his only goal since the turn of the year.
He is often seen as an inspiration to many sporting athletes and is a known fan of the UFC regularly talking to retired star Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Chimaev has made a remarkable rise in the sport having quickly made it to 3-0 before his progress was stunted by a tough fight with coronavirus.
However the 27-year-old made his return in October last year defeating Li Jingliang with a sensational opening round stoppage.
Next for the rising star could be a huge leap to face No.2 ranked contender Gilbert Burns in bumper welterweight showdown on April 4.
Do you believe Khamzat Chimaev will become UFC champion? Let us know in the comments section below
The pair verbally agreed to the duel on social media with official talks also taking place to stage the bout.
This could set up a potential title shot against Kamaru Usman in the future once the Nigerian has returned from his injury and faced Leon Edwards.
UFC star Darren Till believes that Chimaev is capable of competing with Usman and has also backed him to challenge Israel Adesanya.
“If Khamzat gets a hold of Adesanya, Adesanya’s going to have a really tough night. He’s f***ing super strong. As I told you, the most impressive thing is his physical condition," he told Frontkick.online.
"He does not get tired. Once he grabs hold of you, he just does not stop. So, can you imagine having a guy like that for five rounds? That’s very tough.
"First Khamzat's got to win the welterweight strap, I believe he can achieve that. He has got some tough competition, I've trained with Leon [Edwards] who's a super tough guy, very technical."
"Usman, Colby and some of these guys. I think it's the same as the middleweight division, it's open wide. All the guys are so good."
