Cristiano Ronaldo was overheard asking Israel Adesanya about his good friend Alex Volkanovski, after the Aussie’s brutal knockout at the hands of Islam Makhachev last weekend. 

Adesanya is currently in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to attend the blockbuster showdown between former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou and heavyweight boxing champion Tyson Fury.

Ronaldo, who lives and plays in Saudi Arabia, is a long-time boxing fan and crossed paths with the former UFC champion at a Champions Gala on Saturday.

The five-time Ballon D’or winner was recorded chatting with Adesanya, and heard mentioning Volkanovski’s name during the brief conversation.

‘I sent a message to Volkanovski,’ Ronaldo seems to be saying in the video clip.

Adesanya responds: ‘Volk? Oh, he’s good. He’s good.’

Although the audio is muffled, Ronaldo’s concern for the Aussie UFC star is crystal clear – and Adesanya is thankful for the footballer’s concern.

It comes following Volkanovski‘s shock mental health reveal after his stunning knockout loss to lightweight king Makhachev at UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi.

Volkanovski became very emotional when speaking to press after the bout, fighting back tears when talking about the pressure he has been under over the last few months.

After a few days to process the loss, ‘The Great’ released a video detailing his emotional struggles and telling his fans that he is 'OK'.

Ronaldo also sat down with Tyson Fury at the event, where the Gypsy King admitted what a huge fan he is of the former Real Madrid and Manchester United star.

'Cristiano you are the greatest footballer that has ever lived, and I mean that,' said Fury.

'I am a big fan. I watched you at United the first time, the second time and all your time at Real Madrid.'

It appears the heavyweight champion of the world is not too big a fan of Lionel Messi.

Also in attendance at the Champions Gala was the entire Fury family, Manny Pacquiao, Mike Tyson, Israel Adesanya, Chuck Liddell, Lenox Lewis, Oscar de la Hoya and Oleksandr Usyk.

Since Ronaldo's £172million two year move to Al Nassr, he has had ample opportunity to attend high-profile fighting events which have been staged in Saudi Arabia.

Discussing the upcoming fight, Fury told the media: 'It's like a table tennis champion facing Djokovic in the Wimbledon final, totally different.'

Yesterday, Fury and Usyk came face-to-face in Saudi Arabia after they signed a contract last month for an undisputed world heavyweight title battle later this year, with the bout to take place in Riyadh on December 23.

The pair have regularly traded various insults in recent times - which included Fury labelling Usyk a 'sausage' - before they bumped into each other after walking a red carpet of boxing royalty ahead of a gala dinner on the eve of Fury-Ngannou.

And the pair shared an unexpected embrace, before the Ukrainian lifted up his rival champion.