Khabib Nurmagomedov once hit a fan so hard in the stomach he fell to his knees after the impact

Khabib Nurmagomedov once punched a fan right in the stomach in astonishing footage ahead of his eagerly-anticipated fight with Edson Barboza at UFC 219.

The former UFC lightweight champion was speaking at an event in his home country of Dagestan back in 2017, when the fan came over to him.

The man, who was wearing a black T-shirt and a matching pair of jeans, asked Nurmagomedov if he would mind testing his strength against him in the form of a body shot to the midriff – with The Eagle evidently finding the whole thing rather amusing.

Needless to say, he was only too happy to oblige.

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Fans were left stunned when he unleashed a right hand at the fan without warning, who bravely tried to firm it before eventually dropping to his knees.

The pair did share a hug at the end of the clip but there’s no doubt he must have been in a world of pain.

It is unclear if the incident was staged.

Check out the video below…

Nurmagomedov went on to win a unanimous decision against the hard-hitting Barboza a few months later. The win also earned him his first Performance of the Night bonus.

Of the Brazilian, Nurmagomedov said after the fight: “In the beginning of the fight, all my training camp I thought about his kicking, his knees, and for me it was very interesting to feel everything what people talk about him, his striking game, you know.

“When the fight began, of course I knew he was going to worry about my takedowns too. All training camp we planned to pressure this guy, make him tired, make him work. He kicked me a couple of times when the fight began but I don’t feel nothing.

“When I took him down, his coaches were very close, and I just talked