Cristiano Ronaldo squares up to Francis Ngannou just like he did with Conor McGregor but thinks better of it and hugs former UFC heavyweight champion

Cristiano Ronaldo and Francis Ngannou shared a jokey face-off as the pair met in Saudi Arabia at the weekend.

The football superstar and former UFC heavyweight champion linked up for an unlikely staredown, which ultimately saw the footballer think twice about going any further.

2

Ronaldo is now playing out in Saudi having signed for Al-Nassr, who he played for the first time on Sunday.

Ngannou is currently a fighting free agent.

The former UFC king was stripped of his belt this week as the company accepted he was out of contract and moving on from their relationship.

At present, Ngannou is still recovering from injury after undergoing surgery to repair the ACL and MCL in his right knee last year.

He is planning to return to action this summer, but currently enjoying holiday time away from the sport.

While on his travels, he linked up with Ronaldo on Saturday.

Most read in MMA

Jon Jones’ former rival admits part of him wants Bones to retire instead of Aspinall fight

Eddie Hall releases statement to explain shock video of confrontation with motorists

Daniel Cormier reveals biggest regret of his career and it's to do with Jon Jones

All you need to know about UFC 315 as Muhammad defends welterweight title in Canada

The pair squared up to one another in a funny video, though Ronaldo quickly decided to de-escalate the situation.

He burst out laughing and decided to hug Ngannou, rather than fight him - undoubtedly a wise decision.

It was reminiscent of the time he met and posed similarly with Conor McGregor when they spent time together in 2016.

Ronaldo recently left Manchester United, by mutually agreeing to terminate his contract.

His first appearance in Saudi Arabia came in an exhibition match against Lionel Messi's PSG in a Riyadh All-Star XI before he played against Ettifaq in a 1-0 Saudi Pro League win.

Now that he's a free agent, Ngannou has been called out for a special rules fight by boxing's WBC heavyweight world champion Tyson Fury.

Fury sent his message via  as he said: “Francis Ngannou, I know you’re out of contract with the UFC.

2

“Wanna earn some big boy money? Come see the Gypsy King.

“Let’s do a big, big fight for the baddest MF on the planet.

“Let’s kick it up spicy, in a cage, four-ounce gloves, under Queensberry [boxing rules], and let’s have a badass referee like Iron Mike Tyson.

“Did I just sell that to the world?”