According to Khabib Nurmagomedov, Leonardo DiCaprio was almost a casualty of the UFC 229 post-fight brawl that broke out after the main event fight.
Khabib Nurmagomedov may have once said that “too much movie make your heart weak,” but he does know who Leonardo DiCaprio is. And according to the undefeated UFC lightweight champion, he almost had a rough encounter with the Hollywood A-Lister amidst the UFC 229 post-fight brawl.
DiCaprio was apparently among the celebrities in attendance during that October 6th night in Las Vegas, and was nearly caught in the frenzy when Khabib leapt from the cage to charge at Dillon Danis and the rest of Conor McGregor’s team.
“Honestly, I didn’t recognize [the other celebrities in the crowd], apart from Leonardo DiCaprio,” Khabib said in an interview with Match TV (via RT). “He’s a big fan [of MMA].
“He told me, ‘I was sitting 5 meters away [when you jumped the cage at UFC 229], you nearly landed on me!’
Khabib also says he was able to have a short chat with DiCaprio, who even invited him and his companions to dinner in Paris. He was also surprised with how much a “regular guy” the movie star turned out to be.
“He’s a regular guy, but it was surprising to me, when people came up to him for a photo, he said ‘I don’t take photos.’ I asked why, and he said it’s not possible to make everyone happy.
“He said he only takes photos with kids… with everyone else it’s not possible. That surprised me, but in general he’s a regular guy.”
Khabib’s post-fight actions may have caught the attention of Hollywood heavyweights, but he will need to bear the brunt of his actions through a nine-month retroactive suspension and a $500,000 fine. He can possibly reduce it to six months through an anti-bullying PSA, which he is not too keen on doing.