Shocking video footage has emerged of Merab Dvalishvili being left bloodied after getting jumped from behind by Usman Nurmagomedov and several other members of his entourage in Abu Dhabi.
Dvalishvili, who went five rounds with Petr Yan in a 135lb title fight just two weeks ago, appears to be in the middle of an interview in a hotel lobby when Usman approaches from behind with numerous other members of his crew and slaps him hard in the face.
Two others from Usman’s crew then step in, with one kicking Merab, while another punches him. Merab is briefly held back by his friend (reportedly 21-year-old wrestler Saba Lazishvili), before suddenly bursting forward throwing punches in retaliation.
A wild brawl then ensures that leaves Dvalishvili and his friend Saba completely outnumbered by multiple attackers, but still bravely doing their best to defend themselves.
Usman attempts to trip Dvalishvili while they are briefly clinched up, but meanwhile someone else grabs Merab from behind and throws him to the ground.
However, Saba (who has just finished dropping one attacker) then swoops in for timely payback on the one who threw Merab by flooring him with a single punch too, while Dvalishvili gets back to his feet and continues trying to fend off other foes.
Merab and Saba get separated from each other during the chaos, which then leave them both having to deal with three attackers each at the same time as punches and knees come flying in before the footage ends.
“Usman Nurmagomedov and his friends came like snakes from behind!” Dvalishvili said in a video post afterwards alongside Saba as his facial wounds were being attended to. “What kind of fighters you guys are?! What kind of man does this?! If you want to fight, let’s do like real way, bro! You guys came just because there’s two of us, and you guys were prepared, bro! What the fck?! … That shows your guys’ character, shows you’re not real men! If you want to fight, let’s fcking fight!”
The 28-year-old Usman is the brother of Dvalishvili’s bantamweight rival Umar Nurmagomedov (who Merab beat by unanimous decision back in January of 2025), as well as being a cousin of UFC legend Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Usman competes two weight classes above Dvalishvili and is currently is an undefeated free agent after being an undisputed lightweight champion in both the Bellator and PFL promotions during his 22-0 (+1nc) career to date.
Nurmagomedov had been heavily tipped to be joining his brother Umar in the UFC, but he’s already facing a fierce backlash from fans and even fellow fighters after this incident, which could potentially jeopardize his chances of making it to the Octagon.
“You’re a bunch of cowards, and you’ll be held accountable for what you’ve done,” Ilia Topuria wrote to Usman and his crew after sharing the video. “You’re anything but real men.”
“UFC has to the drop the hammer on them for this.” – Curtis Blaydes
“God bless Merab. Super tough, hope you have a squad to get your back next time.” – Mike Perry
“This is wrong. This has no place in our sport. Get well soon champ.” – Kevin Vallejos
Watch two separate angles of the brawl below.
