Khabib meets Malhadinho backstage at UFC 311 and 'scratches' Portuguese: 'Punch in the head'

Jailton Malhadinho and Khabib Nurmagomedov backstage at UFC 311 (Photo: Instagram)

Brazilian highlight on the preliminary card of UFC 311, next Saturday (18), Jailton Malhadinho is known not only for his skills inside the octagon, but also for his irreverence outside of it. This virtue captivated none other than Khabib Nurmagomedov behind the scenes of the week of the event.

In a social media post, Malhadinho, affectionately nicknamed 'Malhadomedov' by fans due to his similarities to Khabib's fighting style (of whom he has admitted to being a fan), documented a fun encounter with his idol backstage at the UFC 311 press conference.

In the video, Malhadinho instructs Khabib to say the name of his gym Galpão da Luta, as well as the traditional expression 'punch in the head'. In the end, the Russian, on his own, scratched out some Portuguese to praise the Bahian.

“Fight Shed. Punch to the head. This fighter is very good,” said Khabib.

Ranked sixth in the heavyweight division (up to 120,2 kg) and eyeing a title shot, Jailton Malhadinho faces Serghei Spivac on the preliminary card of UFC 311.

Khabib Nurmagomedov will be present at the event as the coach of Islam Makhachev, who defends his lightweight title (up to 70,3 kg) against Arman Tsarukyan in the main event, Umar Nurmagomedov, who fights for the bantamweight title (up to 61,2 kg) against Merab Dvalishvili in the co-main event, and Tagir Ulanbekov, who faces Clayton Carpenter in the opening fight of the preliminary card.

VIDEO: Watch the meeting between Jailton Malhadinho and Khabib Nurmagomedov