Former UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili and PFL lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov clashed in an Abu Dhabi hotel lobby on Wednesday, ESPN reported.
Video footage circulated on social media showing Nurmagomedov approaching Dvalishvili from behind and slapping him in the face, according to Yahoo Sports. Dvalishvili was giving an interview for Real American Freestyle in the hotel when the confrontation erupted, BJPenn.com reported. The mass brawl involved multiple members from the camps of both fighters.
Dvalishvili is 35 years old. He is scheduled to compete at the Real American Freestyle event in the United Arab Emirates on Saturday against Brazilian Marlon Moraes. Usman Nurmagomedov is 28 years of age. He is an undefeated PFL standout facing speculation regarding a potential departure from the PFL to compete in the UFC by 2027.
“Was doing an interview for RAF in the hotel lobby, and Usman and his buddies came up from behind and started punching me and my young friend,” Dvalishvili said in a tweet reported by | BJPenn.com.
“Security was holding me – They kept kicking us when we were down like losers,” he added.
The Wednesday confrontation stems from a long-running feud between Dvalishvili and the Nurmagomedov team. Dvalishvili previously handed Usman’s older brother, Umar Nurmagomedov, his first career loss by unanimous decision at UFC 311 in January 2025, before which Dvalishvili referred to Umar as “spoiled” and accused the Dagestani of being disrespectful. Both camps were previously involved in a brief altercation in July at another RAF event in Georgia, Yahoo Sports reported.
🚨 Full footage of the scuffle between Usman Nurmagomedov and Merab Dvalishvili pic.twitter.com/SGJzkQdFif
“What a sneaky way, guys,” Dvalishvili said in the video. “What kind of fighters you guys are? What kind of man does this? If you want to try, let’s do it the real way.”
UFC champion Islam Makhachev is a close friend and training partner of the Nurmagomedovs. He said that the prior July incident led to Wednesday’s altercation. “Why were you silent when Merab hit a Dagestani wrestler for nothing and hurt his honor?” Makhachev wrote, adding, “Merab started what happened today in his homeland by allowing himself to hit a guest and insulting his mother.”
Both fighters are scheduled to compete at the Real American Freestyle event in the United Arab Emirates on Saturday, Yahoo Sports reported. Dvalishvili faces Marlon Moraes, while Usman Nurmagomedov is scheduled to wrestle Urijah Faber, ESPN reported. Umar Nurmagomedov is also scheduled to take on Faber at the Saturday event, Yahoo Sports reported.
Mixed martial artists take part in RAF showcases while maintaining contracts with major organizations, with Yahoo Sports noting recent appearances in the promotion by fighters such as Khamzat Chimaev, Arman Tsarukyan and Colby Covington. UFC CEO Dana White is expected to comment on what happened between Dvalishvili and Nurmagomedov this weekend, BJPenn.com said.
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