Cristiano Ronaldo has won over the MMA community with one simple question.
The former Manchester United star is in his new home city of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia ahead of Tyson Fury’s crossover fight with Francis Ngannou on Saturday night.
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Israel Adesanya is also in the Middle East to support a fellow former UFC champion who is set to face a boxing world champion in his squared circle debut.
The two sports stars bumped into each other, and their interaction was caught on camera – it has since been shared on Adesanya’s Instagram story.
Ronaldo can be heard imploring ‘Stylebender’ to fight on after he claimed to be taking some time off from MMA after losing his title to Sean Strickland last month.
Adesanya promised to attend one of Ronaldo’s matches with Saudi club Al-Nassr and expressed his surprise at the fact the football legend is pretty much the same size as him.
However, it was something CR7 said under his breath as the pair embraced before parting ways that caught the attention of MMA fans around the world.
The 38-year-old asked for an update on Alexander Volkanovski after he opened up about his mental health struggles following a knockout loss against Islam Makhachev at UFC 294 last weekend.
Adesanya replied: “Volk? Oh, that’s my guy. He’s good. Appreciate you asking.”
Ronaldo isn’t the only sports star sending positive vibes to Volkanovski.
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Fury, who has well-documented issues with his own mental health, had some kind words when asked about ‘The Great’ and his ongoing battle.
“I have been in that situation all year,” he told The Mac Life.
“I’ve not boxed since last year, early December of 2022 and there was a lot of uncertainty [about] if I would even box again. Out of the blue, all of this has come, and I’ve not got one fight, but two fights lined up.
“What I would say to Alexander is keep going. You know, he’s a very good professional athlete and you win some, you lose some.
“Dust yourself off, get back in there and kick a**.”
