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Shaquille O'Neal was punched by social media star Hasbulla Magomedov.
The former NBA star is a noted combat sports fan. Neal has been spotted at both major boxing and UFC events over the years. His popularity has led to him training and even competing in boxing matches in the past.
Before there was Jake Paul having celebrity boxing matches, the NBA center was throwing hands. Over a decade ago, O'Neal had a series of exhibition boxing matches with former champions Oscar De La Hoya and Shane Mosley.
The matchups were intense and saw the world champions give it their all against the former NBA champion. At the end of each of the five-round contests, the boxers won by unanimous decision. However, O'Neal landed some good shots of his own.
Suffice to say, Shaquille O'Neal is used to being punched. However, there are few hitters that are bigger than Hasbulla Magomedov. The social media star is also a noted combat sports fan, and has even had talks with the UFC on competing in the promotion.
In a video posted to Twitter, the two men met and were hanging out on a boat. While O'Neal wasn't paying attention, Magomedov landed a solid blow that caught the former NBA center off-guard. The whole ordeal seems to be in good fun, and isn't shocking given how often the social media star throws blows.
Watch the video below:
Have Shaquille O'Neal or Hasbulla Magomedov fought in the UFC?
Neither Shaquille O'Neal nor Habulla Magomedov have fought in the UFC, but not for a lack of trying.
The NBA big man was winding down his basketball career in 2009. With that in mind, and wanting to test his skills due to having been training in MMA for nearly a decade, O'Neal asked the UFC for a fight against kickboxer Hong-Man Choi.
The kickboxer agreed and downplayed O'Neal's chances of securing the victory. A year later, the NBA center went to UFC 118, and confirmed that he was still interested in the bout. It seems the promotion had no interest, and the matchup never happened.
Meanwhile, last year, Hasbulla Magomedov tried to make his own UFC debut. The 19-year-old attended events and even arranged a meeting with president Dana White. While the details of the meeting were never revealed, the promoter stated that he wanted to work with Magomedov.
Sadly, as of now, he's not secured his UFC debut, nor a showdown with longtime-foe Abdu Rozik.
