Merab Dvalishvili, Usman Nurmagomedov and others involved in Wednesday's hotel-lobby brawl in Abu Dhabi were taken to a police station for questioning, Ariel Helwani reported on Nov. 11. No police statement, charge or outcome has been made public, and Real American Freestyle (RAF), whose Abu Dhabi wrestling event is on Saturday, has not commented.
What Helwani and TASS reported
Helwani wrote on X: "The latest I'm hearing is that everyone involved in the Merab Dvalishvili/Usman Nurmagomedov altercation, including Merab and his friend, are at the police station for questioning." His understanding, he added, is that Dvalishvili "isn't the one pressing charges, but the incident happened in public and was caught on camera."
Kommersant, citing the Russian state agency TASS and an unnamed source, reported that Usman and all participants in the fight were detained in Abu Dhabi so the circumstances could be established and statements taken. Earlier, Ilia Topuria wrote on X that Usman "has reportedly been detained, along with the cowards who were with him." Neither claim has been confirmed by Abu Dhabi police.
What happened in the hotel lobby
Dvalishvili said he was recording an interview for RAF in the hotel lobby when "Usman and his buddies came up from behind and started punching me and my young friend." According to Yahoo Sports' Uncrowned, footage of the group attack surfaced on Wednesday, and Dvalishvili and his friend were left badly bloodied. AgentMMA identified the group in the video as Usman Nurmagomedov, Tagir Ulanbekov, Amru Magomedov and an unidentified man in a blue cap, and Dvalishvili's friend as 21-year-old wrestler Saba Lazashvili. Dvalishvili has said Umar Nurmagomedov was also involved, but AgentMMA notes that Umar does not appear in the available footage. Usman has not publicly addressed the incident.
Makhachev defends Usman
Islam Makhachev, the UFC welterweight champion and a longtime teammate of the Nurmagomedov brothers, defended Usman on Instagram in a statement translated by Uncrowned's Kristina Avsarkisova: "Those who are judging Usman and the guys and insulting them right now, why were you silent when Merab slapped the Dagestani fighter and insulted his honor?" He added: "That man approached him with no ill intent, just to talk. Whatever happened today, was started by Merab when he allowed himself to slap and cuss out a guest in his homeland."
Makhachev was referring to a backstage altercation before RAF's July event in Tbilisi, Georgia. According to Uncrowned, Ahmed Gadzhimagomedov, a friend and training partner of the Nurmagomedov camp, allegedly grabbed Dvalishvili after the pre-match press conference and aggressively asked what his problem with Umar was, and Dvalishvili slapped him. AgentMMA reports that several Dagestani fighters shared the hotel video, framing it as payback for that incident.
Background
The feud dates back to UFC 311 in January 2025, when Dvalishvili beat Umar by unanimous decision to defend the UFC bantamweight title. Dvalishvili (21-6) is ranked No. 1 at UFC bantamweight in Pugna MMA's database; he lost the title to Petr Yan by unanimous decision at UFC 333 on Oct. 24. Umar (20-2), ranked No. 5, was stopped by Song Yadong in the second round on Aug. 29.
Makhachev (29-1) is No. 1 in the UFC men's pound-for-pound rankings and beat Ian Machado Garry by unanimous decision at UFC 330 on Aug. 15. Usman Nurmagomedov (22-0, 1 NC) is listed as the PFL lightweight champion in our database. Uncrowned describes him as a former Bellator and PFL champion who is now an MMA free agent, while his manager, Ali Abdelaziz, wrote on Nov. 11 that Usman is still in an exclusive negotiating period with the PFL, according to Middle Easy. Helwani has questioned whether the UFC would still sign him.
What comes next
RAF Abu Dhabi takes place on Saturday, Nov. 14, at Etihad Arena, headlined by Khamzat Chimaev vs. Chris Weidman. RAF advertises an 8 p.m. local start, which is 11 a.m. ET and 17:00 CET. Dvalishvili is still listed against Marlon Moraes and Umar against Urijah Faber, but Uncrowned says it is unclear whether either will stay on the card. Pugna MMA will update this story when police, RAF or the Nurmagomedov camp comment.
Follow Dvalishvili, the Nurmagomedovs and every UFC and PFL card live, round by round, in the free Pugna MMA app, with live MMA results and a free, no-money prediction game in eight languages.
Sources
This article was generated with AI and may contain errors.