Russia’s most successful athletes: UFC hero Khabib tops list, football star Dzyuba three spots down following masturbation scandal

UFC lightweight king Khabib Nurmagomedov has topped the list of Russia’s most successful athletes for the second year in a row, while national football captain Artem Dzyuba has fallen three spots following his sex video scandal.

The undefeated fighter has been ranked first after earning a whopping $12.6 million, becoming the second highest-paid athlete on a list that is is dominated by footballers and hockey players.

More than 50 Russian athletes were included in the rankings released by Sport24, based on their earnings, social media following, endorsements and charity activities.

In October, Nurmagomedov earned the biggest fight purse of his career, pocketing $6 million for his second-round submission win against Justin Gaethje, as well as post-fight bonuses of $90,000 after his 13th successive win in the UFC and 29th overall career victory.

The Dagestani fighter, who has more than 26 million subscribers on Instagram, converted his social media celebrity status into riches through sponsored posts advertising energy drinks, vitamin supplements and a regional payment system.

He also has a sponsorship contract with vehicle-maker Toyota, which often invites him to its specially-organized events.

Nurmagomedov recently purchased the Gorilla Fighting Championship for $1 million, renaming it Eagle Fighting Championships while announcing plans to develop his brand new MMA promotion.

NHL star Alex Ovechkin took second, racking up $15.5 million over the past year, but trailing Nurmagomedov's more impressive social media following.

The Washington Capitals star has 1.6 million followers on his official Instagram account.

Ovechkin’s counterparts, Artemi Panarin, Nikita Kucherov and Evgeni Malkin, completed the top five, with tennis ace Daniil Medvedev, who won the ATP Finals last month, entering the top 10 for the first time.

Russia football captain Artem Dzyuba, who was recently embroiled in a huge sex tape scandal, is in seventh place, several spots down on the list in comparison with last year’s rankings.

Dzyuba earned $5 million, but found himself in hot water last month after a video of him pleasuring himself leaked online.

The forward was removed from the national team in the wake of the scandal, missing three games in a row.

Russian figure skater Alina Zagitova is the only female athlete on the list, earning more than $2 million over the season.

The skater has put her competitive career on hold last year to focus on exhibition shows and her TV career.