Nurmagomedov-Dvalishvili camps clash in Abu Dhabi hotel brawl

A confrontation between the camps of former UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili and PFL lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov in an Abu Dhabi hotel lobby on Wednesday ended with 10 people arrested, Abu Dhabi police confirmed.

Footage of the incident appeared to show Nurmagomedov, who is Russian, approach Dvalishvili from behind and slap him, before fighting spread to members of both camps, according to BBC Mixed Martial Arts.

Police said in a statement: "Abu Dhabi Police arrested eight individuals involved in a fight that occurred at the entrance of a hotel following previous disputes between them. They also arrested two individuals who filmed the incident and took the necessary legal measures against them."

Dvalishvili, 35, is due to fight Brazilian Marlon Moraes at the Real American Freestyle event in the United Arab Emirates on Saturday.

He later shared video of himself receiving treatment for a bloodied face on TikTok, describing Nurmagomedov and his team as "snakes" and asking: "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."

The clash has roots in a long-running dispute between Dvalishvili and Usman's older brother, Umar Nurmagomedov, whom Dvalishvili had called "spoiled" before beating him in a bantamweight title fight in 2025. There was also a previous altercation between the two camps before a Real American Freestyle event in July.

UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev, a close friend and training partner of the Nurmagomedovs, suggested Wednesday's brawl stemmed from that earlier dispute, writing: "Why were you silent when Merab hit a Dagestani wrestler for nothing and hurt his honor?"

Two-weight UFC champion Ilia Topuria, a friend of Dvalishvili, took the opposite view after sharing footage of the incident, writing: "What a disgrace. A bunch of absolute cowards. I always thought you were a bunch of mediocre individuals. Now you've removed every last doubt."

Usman Nurmagomedov is currently a free agent following his last fight for the PFL and has been heavily linked with a move to the UFC.

Yahoo Sports reported that Saba Lazishvili, a friend of Dvalishvili's, fought back against six men during the hotel melee and was subsequently added to Saturday's Abu Dhabi card, replacing Umar Nurmagomedov in a bout against American Urijah Faber.

According to Yahoo Sports, manager Ali Abdelaziz issued an apology to Abu Dhabi over the incident, and Usman Nurmagomedov and seven others — five men accused of joining the attack and two accused of filming it — were sentenced to six months' confinement and fined Dh300,000, roughly $81,700, though it remained unclear whether the sentence would be enforced.

Asked about the brawl at a UFC 334 press conference, UFC president Dana White said of the region: "that is not a place to f*** around."

Dvalishvili, describing his treatment in custody in a video shared by the account Championship Rounds, said: "They cut my shoelaces off, but I made these shoelaces out of a bag bro. They took my belt. They left me without my belt." He is still scheduled to face Marlon Moraes in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.