Usman Nurmagomedov and five other unnamed members of his entourage have been swiftly jailed for 6 months for their part in attacking Merab Dvalishvili and his friend Sabu Lazishvili in a hotel lobby in Abu Dhabi earlier this week.
UFC star Dvalishvili was in the middle of conducting an interview in the lobby of the hotel when ex-Bellator and PFL champion Nurmagomedov (who is the brother of UFC fighter Umar Nurmagomedov and cousin of the legendary Khabib) walked up behind him and slapped him hard in the face, before two other members of his crew stepped in to throw a kick to the body and a punch to the face.
That sparked off a wild brawl as Merab and his friend Sabu found themselves being outnumbered by multiple attackers who punched, kicked and kneed them repeatedly, resulting in them both being left with cuts, bruises and swelling to the face.
They didn’t get it all their own way though as Sabu in particular managed to floor two of the attackers with single punches during the chaotic scenes, which were all caught on camera from multiple angles.
Nurmagomedov and the other assailants have been heavily criticized by both fans and many other fighters since the story first break, and now things have gotten far worse for them due to the very strict and extremely swift justice system in Abu Dhabi.
As well as being hammered with six month jail sentences, all six of the attackers have also been handed approximately $80,000 fines each and will be deported from the country as soon as they have concluded their time behind bars.
Two other people who filmed the brawl have also been hit with the same punishments, receiving six months in jail and $80,000 fines, while their phones were also confiscated and the footage deleted.
As for Merab and Sabu, they have both walked free after being held for questioning, but they have also been fined in the region of $13,600 each.
The jail sentence throws a major spanner in the works regarding rumors that the undefeated Usman Nurmagomedov could sign for the UFC after his exclusive negotiation period with the PFL concludes.
However, there’s no doubt that the strict punishments will act as a major deterrent for any other fighter who considers getting into a fight outside of the Octagon while in this part of the world.
