Usman Nurmagomedov ambushed and bloodied Merab Dvalishvili in Abu Dhabi, sparking a hotel lobby brawl involving multiple attackers.
Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili was left bloodied after being ambushed by Professional Fighters League (PFL) lightweight kingpin Usman Nurmagomedov ahead of this weekend’s Real American Freestyle (RAF) Abu Dhabi fight card in the UAE. Footage of the incident shows Nurmagomedov approaching Dvalishvili from behind and striking him, sparking a chaotic brawl in the hotel lobby. Outnumbered, Dvalishvili and his younger companion were brutally beaten whilst being held back by security.
Fellow Georgian fighter Ilia Topuria called Nurmagomedov and his entourage “absolute cowards”, alleging that local authorities in Abu Dhabi had detained several of the men involved.
With blood all over his face, Dvalishvili shared a video on his Instagram account as he explained what happened in the hotel lobby.
“What a sneaky way, guys. Just two of us came here in Abu Dhabi, and Usman Nurmagomedov and his friends came like snakes from behind. What kind of fighters are you? What kind of man does this? If you want to talk or fight, let’s do it the real way. There were only two of us, and there were twelve to fifteen of you. Who attacks from behind? Do you call yourselves men? Maybe you are just cowards. We bleed, we fight, we are warriors! But you are just sneaky and not real men; it shows your true character. If you want to fight, let’s fight. I am a real guy, and I speak straight, but you and all your friends waited for us and attacked from behind,” he said.
“I knew what kind of people you were. I arrived in Abu Dhabi, and then Usman, Umar, and their friends came from behind, trying to beat us with so many guys. I am fine, and to all my friends and family, I am a fighter, and this is nothing to me. But again, it shows your character. We fought like real men, whilst you acted like cowards. Twenty guys against two, kicking us even when we were down from behind. We are the warriors here,” he added.
Now, two-division champion in the UFC, Islam Makhachev, has defended his longtime teammate by reminding critics that Dvalishvili initiated a separate altercation with a Dagestani wrestler at RAF Georgia earlier this year.
The rivalry between Merab Dvalishvili and the Nurmagomedov family stems from “The Machine’s” clash with Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 311 in early 2025. However, it also has to be noted that it was Dvalishvili who initiated the physical hostility himself when he slapped a member of Umar’s entourage at the RAF event in Georgia last July.