UFC fighter Khabib Nurmagomedov named BBC World Sport Star of the year

The Russian had quitted from mixed martial arts after defending his lightweight title in October by beating Justine Gaethje, which took him to the top of the UFC's pound for pound rankings.

Public poll on the BBC Sport website eliminated pole vaulter Armand Duplantis, basketball's LeBron James, golfer Dustin Johnson, footballer Wendie Renard and boxer Katie Taylor to select the 32 year old.

Reacting to the announcement, Khabib, who was recently described by The Guardian as the second most popular Muslim athlete in the world, behind only the Egyptian footballer Mohammed Salah, said that the award meant a lot for him.