The undefeated fighter, Khabib Nurmagomedov, expressed gratitude to Turkey after street art depicting the moment of him choking out Conor McGregor emerged in Istanbul.
READ MORE: 'We Worked Everything Out': Khabib Staying On — UFC President
The graffiti also features a caption that reads “Don’t talk too much” in an apparent reference to the war of words the two fighters had been engaged in prior to their much-anticipated bout in Las Vegas.
READ MORE: Twitter Electrified, Baffled by Possible Nurmagomedov-Mayweather Matchup
While Nurmagomedov’s post has already received over 2.6 million likes and more than 48k comments on Instagram, users have also been expressing their wholehearted support for him on Twitter:
We love you bro and support you all the time @TeamKhabib
— Sercan ÇİNER (@SercoLeite) 15 октября 2018 г.
Adamsin #Khabib, you are the man! Worlds best UFC fighter!! The champion of the world!
— Caim (@Caim7) 15 октября 2018 г.
Brother, most people in turkey that likes mma supports you 100%. Watch the likes and retweets now 🤩
— M Seker (@MSeker10) 14 октября 2018 г.
The most Respected (@TeamKhabib)
— Alp Şahbaz Kahn (@AlpSahbazkahn) 15 октября 2018 г.
Khabib Nurmagomedove:
It is stated that, it'll be an honour for us, if you visit Türkey, & we'll be so glad to have you in Turkey. You are our PRIDE please accept our invitation & visit us, even for an hour or day or two or more, just VISIT
One netizen suggested that after his publication he had amassed a millions-strong army of fans in Turkey:
Khabib you have now millions of fans in Turkey,look at your videos on youtube they have been watched a million times. we love you.
— Ferdi FB (@RichardSate) 15 октября 2018 г.
Others praised the graffiti, saying it was a piece of art and claiming that it was better than Leonardo Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa:
This is Art! And it does reflect real events! “Don’t talk too much “ #AndStill @TeamKhabib The Champion! 🦅💯 #HelwaniShow #ufc230 @ufc pic.twitter.com/vA1zCCS5i0
— Salvatore Zullo (@salzamora123) 14 октября 2018 г.
Awesome!!!!! 👊👊 excellent job 👏👏
— Lucas Benítez (@Lucas51192) 12 октября 2018 г.
That pic is worth more than the Mona Lisa i think hahaha…
— uzzzie (@unevaknw) 14 октября 2018 г.
On October 6, Nurmagomedov dealt a devastating defeat to Irish fighter Conor McGregor in the fourth round with a chokehold as the two competed for the lightweight championship title at UFC 229.
