Merab Dvalishvili attacked by Usman Nurmagomedov in Abu Dhabi hotel before RAF event
UFC fighter Merab Dvalishvili was assaulted by a group led by Usman Nurmagomedov while giving a pre-event interview in an Abu Dhabi hotel, leaving him with facial injuries.
Merab Dvalishvili was assaulted by a group headed by Usman Nurmagomedov in a hotel lobby in Abu Dhabi while he was conducting an interview ahead of the upcoming RAF Abu Dhabi card. Video posted by UFC fighter Ilia Topuria, later removed, shows Dvalishvili turning to face Nurmagomedov, who strikes him and a melee follows. Additional footage released on Thursday shows Nurmagomedov approaching Dvalishvili from behind, delivering a slap, after which Dvalishvili rushes the group, is thrown to the ground, and receives further punches and kicks. Nurmagomedov is also seen kicking an associate of Dvalishvili in the head.
Dvalishvili posted a video on social media after the incident, noting that medics attended to a cut on his head that left his face bloodied. He wrote that security continued to kick him and his companion while they were down.
The Georgian is scheduled to fight Marlon Moraes on Saturday night at the RAF’s first Middle-East card in the Etihad Arena. Officials said they will address the incident at a pre-match press conference on Thursday.
The confrontation revives a rivalry that dates back to 2005, when Dvalishvili defeated Usman's older brother, Umar, at UFC 311. Recent tensions have included a scuffle involving an associate of Umar ahead of UFC Georgia, leading to exchanged insults in the media. Usman, a former PFL lightweight champion now a free agent, frequently attends his brother’s bouts but is not on the RAF card. Umar is slated to wrestle Urijah Faber on the same night.
Dvalishvili, 35, comes to Abu Dhabi weeks after a unanimous-decision loss to Petr Yan in the UFC 333 co-main event, where Yan retained the bantamweight title.