"Popular than Taylor Swift", "Insane for a non title fight too" - Fans thrilled by Cristiano Ronaldo and Turki Alalshikh's attending UFC Saudi Arabia

UFC fans recently expressed their opinions after witnessing the noted soccer icon, Cristiano Ronaldo enjoying the action at UFC Saudi Arabia alongside the chairman of the country's General Entertainment Authority, Turki Alalshikh.

The UFC authorities often plan to host non-PPV events inside their very own facility, the UFC Apex. The low audience seating capacity of the venue often takes away a lot of the luster from those events. However, the UFC Saudi Arabia was different from them as it was held in the anb Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Thousands of fans in Saudi Arabia flocked to the arena to enjoy the action of UFC Saudi Arabia on Feb. 1, 2025. The crowd also gave out a huge pop when the broadcast showed the noted soccer icon, Ronaldo in the house alongside Turki Alalshikh.

@ChampRDS reported the incident on X, with a caption reading:

"Cristiano Ronaldo enjoying the fights at #UFCSaudiArabia 💪🔥"

The comments section of the post showcased fans expressing a plethora of thoughts after witnessing the Portuguese soccer star enjoying UFC action. One of them read:

"For Dummies in the US: The guy on the right is popular than Taylor Swift [in the world]".

Others mentioned:

"Insane for a non-title fight too"

"What a legend! CR7!"

"Messi the real goat [GOAT]"

Check out some more reactions:

Fan reactions to @ChampRDS's X update [Screenshots courtesy: @ChampRDS on X]

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Nassourdine Imavov pockets $50,000 apart from earning a KO victory at UFC Saudi Arabia

The UFC Saudi Arabia made fans go through multiple unexpected events. Despite stepping into the octagon as a favorite, the surging middleweight contender, Shara 'Bullet' Magomedov endured the first loss of his UFC career against Michael 'Venom' Page in the co-main event of the night.

The main event of the night produced an even more startling outcome as the No. 5-ranked middleweight, Nassourdine Imavov, earned a TKO victory over the former middleweight champ, Israel Adesanya.

Imavov knocked Adesanya down with a powerful overhand right in the first minute of the sophomore round of the fight. The Frenchman finished the fight with some ground-and-pound in a few more seconds. Later, it was announced that 'The Sniper' would take home an extra $50,000 as the 'Performance of the Night' bonus.