Usman Nurmagomedov slapped Merab Dvalishvili across the face in a hotel lobby in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday, and a group brawl followed that left the former UFC bantamweight champion and his friend bloodied. By Thursday morning, Abu Dhabi Police said they had arrested 10 people over the incident.
“Usman Nurmagomedov and his friends came like snakes from behind!”
Dvalishvili was mid-interview for Real American Freestyle in the lobby of the Yas Hilton when Nurmagomedov approached from behind with a group, said something to him, and slapped him. Dvalishvili went after Nurmagomedov, and the fight spread across the lobby. Footage from two angles circulated within hours.
Dvalishvili posted video of himself receiving medical treatment afterward, with cuts and blood around his nose and left eye. "Usman Nurmagomedov and his friends came like snakes from behind!" he said, looking into his phone's camera. "What kind of fighters you guys are?! What kind of man does this?! If you want to fight, let's do like real way, bro! You guys came just because there's two of us, and you guys were prepared, bro!"
In the caption, he wrote: "Was doing an interview for RAF in hotel lobby and Usman and his buddies came up from behind and started punching me and my young friend. Security was holding me – They kept kicking us when we were down like losers."
The friend with him was Saba Lazishvili, a 21-year-old Georgian wrestler and the younger brother of former UFC fighter Zviad Lazishvili. Lazishvili fought back during the brawl — footage shows him dropping two members of the other group — and Dvalishvili said afterward that his friend, who had never thrown a punch before, now wants to move into MMA. Both men were left bloodied, Lazishvili with a swollen eye.
Dvalishvili put the size of the group at around 20 people, against two on his side. The footage tells a smaller story: MMA Junkie counted about seven others walking up with Nurmagomedov, and Yahoo Sports counted at least six people involved. Dvalishvili also named Nurmagomedov's older brother Umar as one of the people present. The National reported that Nurmagomedov can also be seen kicking Lazishvili in the head.
The police picture moved fast. Ilia Topuria, Dvalishvili's close friend and fellow Georgian, posted 37 seconds of the footage on X and then claimed Nurmagomedov had been detained — his word was "reportedly." Ariel Helwani reported that everyone involved, Dvalishvili and Lazishvili included, had been taken to a police station for questioning, and that Dvalishvili is not the one pressing charges; police became involved because the incident happened in public and was filmed.
Then, on Thursday, Abu Dhabi Police confirmed arrests. In a statement reported by Reuters, police said they arrested eight people involved in a fight at the entrance of a hotel following previous disputes between them, and two more who filmed the incident. The statement did not name anyone arrested, and no charges were announced. Saba's brother Zviad said in a video posted Thursday that Merab and Saba were still in police custody and could be held for 48 hours pending a judge's decision. Police have not confirmed who remains in custody.
Topuria did not stop at the detention claim. "Usman has reportedly been detained, along with the cowards who were with him," he wrote on X. "And these are the same people who dare to preach about humility and respect? What a disgrace. A bunch of absolute cowards. I always thought you were a bunch of mediocre individuals. Now you've removed every last doubt. Honor, respect, and humility aren't words you preach. They're values you live by. And you've shown none of them." He had earlier posted, with the footage: "You're a bunch of cowards, and you'll be held accountable for what you've done. You're anything but real men." He later deleted the first post.
Islam Makhachev took the other side. The UFC welterweight champion defended his longtime teammate on Instagram, pointing back to Dvalishvili's confrontation with Dagestani wrestler Akhmed Gadzhimagomedov at RAF Georgia in July, when Dvalishvili slapped Gadzhimagomedov during fight week in Tbilisi. "To those who are now condemning Usman and the guys and insulting them," Makhachev wrote. "Why were you silent when Merab hit a Dagestani wrestler for no reason and insulted his honor? The man approached him to talk with no ill intent." He added: "What happened today was started by Merab in his own homeland when he took it upon himself to hit a guest and insult his mother." Dvalishvili's side has said Gadzhimagomedov grabbed him by the neck first.
Conor McGregor answered with a joke. He posted on X: "I'm loving the #CONORWASRIGHT #CONORWASRIGHTALLALONG trending right now! Thanks, guys, I love you all too! It's all love, keep your eyes on the prize!" He also shared on Instagram a morphed image of his infamous April 2018 bus attack on Khabib Nurmagomedov's team ahead of UFC 223 — the dolly through the bus window — with Topuria's head edited onto his own body, as if Topuria were about to do the same.
Nina-Marie Daniele, the UFC content creator and a close friend of Dvalishvili, called for a ban. "Merab Dvalishvili is like a brother to me," she wrote on X. "Seeing that video of him getting attacked made me sick to my stomach. Those cowards must pay for what they did. A premeditated attack, with their phones already filming. A bunch of degenerates. The UFC banned Dillon Danis after HE got attacked, jumped by 20 guys when it was just him and his brother and they did nothing to them? I really hope the UFC bans Usman Nurmagomedov and his friends from ever stepping foot in inside the UFC." Danis was banned from UFC events after brawling with members of Khabib Nurmagomedov's team at UFC 322 last November at Madison Square Garden. Sean Strickland went further, calling for a lifetime ban for everyone involved.
The timing matters for both men. Nurmagomedov, 28 and 22-0 with one no contest, is the former PFL lightweight champion and one of the most watched free agents in the sport. He defended the PFL title with a first-round knockout of Archie Colgan in July, and his 90-day exclusive negotiating window with the PFL expired on October 29. UFC CEO Dana White said in October that the promotion was interested. Nurmagomedov has not addressed the incident publicly, and neither the UFC nor Nurmagomedov had commented publicly as of Thursday morning.
Dvalishvili, the former UFC bantamweight champion who lost the title to Petr Yan at UFC 333, is still scheduled to wrestle Marlon Moraes at RAF Abu Dhabi on Saturday at Etihad Arena, in a catchweight crossover match. As of Thursday morning, no match on the card had been cancelled, and Dvalishvili said after the brawl that he was fine. An RAF representative told The National that officials would address the incident at Thursday's pre-event press conference, where both camps are expected to be present. His brother Umar is booked for his RAF debut against Urijah Faber on the same card, which puts both camps in the same building again on Saturday. The event is headlined by Khamzat Chimaev against Colby Covington for the RAF cruiserweight crossover title.
The feud goes back to UFC 311 in January 2025, when Dvalishvili defended his bantamweight title against Umar by unanimous decision and handed him the first loss of his career. Wednesday made it physical — and now the law, the UFC, and Saturday's card all have to answer for it.
