Merab Dvalishvili says Usman Nurmagomedov and others attacked him in Abu Dhabi

Former UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili says Usman Nurmagomedov and his associates attacked him from behind while he was giving an interview in a hotel lobby in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. A Mongolian translation of his statement spread widely among Mongolian users on X.

What Dvalishvili said

According to CBS Sports, Dvalishvili wrote on social media that the attack happened while he was giving an interview at a media event promoting Real American Freestyle (RAF) wrestling. "[I] was doing an interview for RAF in hotel lobby and Usman and his buddies came up from behind and started punching me and my young friend," he wrote. "Security was holding me -- they kept kicking us when we were down."

Dvalishvili also posted a video while being attended to by medical staff, saying he did not know how many people were involved and that they had come at the two of them from behind. He told supporters that he was fine.

Video published

Ilia Topuria, the former two-division UFC champion, posted video of the moment of the attack and condemned it. The National reported that Dvalishvili and his friend appeared injured in the footage. No response from Nurmagomedov had been reported at the time of writing.

Background

Tension between Dvalishvili and Umar Nurmagomedov dates back to the build-up to their January 2025 fight, when Dvalishvili, then the UFC bantamweight champion, defended his title by unanimous decision. Usman Nurmagomedov recently signed with the Professional Fighters League after fighting in Bellator. The Nurmagomedov brothers are cousins and pupils of former UFC champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.