Usman Nurmagomedov and seven others have been sentenced to prison following an attack on former UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili in Abu Dhabi, according to local reports.
The brawl took place on Wednesday at the Yas Hilton, where Dvalishvili was conducting an interview ahead of Saturday's RAF Abu Dhabi event, in which he is due to face Marlon Moraes in a wrestling bout. Nurmagomedov and a group of friends approached him from behind, and after a short exchange of words, Nurmagomedov slapped Dvalishvili, sparking an all-out brawl between the two camps.
Dvalishvili and his friend Saba Lazishvili were left severely injured following the physical altercation.
Sentences and fines handed down
On Friday morning, local reports stated that Nurmagomedov and his associates were sentenced to six months in prison, fined 300,000 AED, and face deportation over the hotel attack.
The two people who filmed the brawl were also sentenced to six months in prison, fined 300,000 AED, and ordered to be deported after serving their sentence for "violating privacy by using information technology to film and publish footage of the brawl." Two others were fined for disturbing public security and assaulting others, ordered to pay 50,000 AED but avoiding jail time. Dvalishvili and Lazishvili were each fined 50,000 AED.
Wrestling promotion RAF revealed on Friday that Dvalishvili has since been released from custody. Nurmagomedov was not due to feature on the RAF card in Abu Dhabi, but was in attendance to support his older brother, Umar, who is expected to face UFC icon Urijah Faber.
Statements from both sides
RAF CEO and co-founder Chad Bronstein issued a statement on Friday: "I am pleased to share that Merab Dvalishvili is back with us in Abu Dhabi. We would like to express our sincere appreciation to the relevant authorities in Abu Dhabi for their professionalism and support. We remain focused on moving forward and are pleased to have Merab back with us."
UFC welterweight champion Islam Makhachev, who trains with Nurmagomedov, shared his side of the story. "To those who are now condemning Usman and the guys, [and] they are writing insults to them, why were you silent when Merab hit a Dagestani wrestler for nothing and hurt his honor?" Makhachev wrote. "The man approached him to talk without malice. Merab started what happened today in his homeland by allowing himself to hit a guest and insulting his mother."
Dvalishvili uploaded a statement to social media following the brawl, writing: "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."
Footage showed the Georgian bloody faced and receiving medical treatment, as he ranted: "What a sneaky way guys? Just two of us, me and my friend came here in Abu Dhabi and Usman Nurmagomedov and his friends came like snakes from behind. What kind of fighters you guys are? What kind of man does this, bro? If you want to talk fight, let's do it the real way, bro. You guys came from...There's just two of us and you guys were prepared, bro. What the f***?"
Dvalishvili then added: "We bleed, we fight, we war, but you guys are just sneaky guys, bro. You guys are not real men. That shows your guys' character, shows you guys aren't real men."
History of rivalry
Dvalishvili has a long history with the Nurmagomedovs. Last year, the 35-year-old defeated Umar at UFC 311 by unanimous decision to defend the UFC bantamweight title. The rivalry escalated a few months ago after Dvalishvili slapped Umar's friend, Akhmed Gadzhimagomedov, backstage after RAF Georgia. Dvalishvili, who had beaten Henry Cejudo in a freestyle wrestling match that evening, had shut down talks of a bout between himself and Umar.
Gadzhimagomedov then approached him to confront him about his comments, with Dvalishvili responding by slapping the Dagestani, leading to a similar scrap between camps. Speaking with Ariel Helwani, Dvalishvili explained his reasoning for the slap.
He said: "I was super relaxed, super chilled and then somebody came and grabbed my neck and pulled me over and started yelling at me in Russian language, which I hardly understand. And he mentioned Umar. It took me a couple of seconds to realise, 'Who is this guy to tell me what to talk about him? It's between me and Umar.' I have so much respect for all Dagestani people, especially fighters. The only guy who I don't like from Dagestan is Umar and his sneaky manager, Rizvan [Magomedov]. The guy who was helping Umar disrespect me on X and Threads."
