The long-running feud between Merab Dvalishvili and the Nurmagomedov camp turned physical again on Wednesday, this time leaving the former UFC bantamweight champion bloodied three days before he is due to compete.
Dvalishvili was in Abu Dhabi for RAF Abu Dhabi on Saturday, where he is scheduled to wrestle Marlon Moraes, and was giving an interview in a hotel lobby when the altercation broke out. Footage circulating online, including an unedited version shared by Red Corner MMA, appears to show a group led by PFL lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov approaching Dvalishvili from behind. As Dvalishvili turns to face him, Nurmagomedov appears to strike him, and a melee follows. A video posted by Ilia Topuria, which has since been deleted, appeared to show the same moment, according to The National.
Dvalishvili posted an expletive-laden video while medics treated him, with blood on his face and his left eye heavily swollen. “Usman Nurmagomedov and his friends came like snakes from behind!” he said. In an Instagram caption, he gave a fuller account. “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.” He said the group numbered around 20 people, and he also accused Usman’s brother, Umar Nurmagomedov, of taking part, saying that “Usman, Umar, and his friends came in a sneaky way and tried to beat us.” Umar’s role, if any, is not clear from the footage that has circulated, and at the time of writing neither brother nor their team had publicly responded to Dvalishvili’s account.
The incident is the latest and most serious chapter in a rivalry that has run for nearly two years. Dvalishvili beat Umar Nurmagomedov by unanimous decision at UFC 311 in January 2025, after a bitter build-up that included a backstage confrontation at the pre-fight press conference. The hostility never cooled. In July, before RAF Georgia in Tbilisi, Dvalishvili slapped Akhmed Gadzhimagomedov, a friend of the Nurmagomedovs, in a backstage altercation after dismissing the idea of a wrestling match with Umar; Dvalishvili later said Gadzhimagomedov had grabbed him by the neck first. Umar responded by questioning Dvalishvili’s character, and Dvalishvili told Ariel Helwani that the only people from Dagestan he had a problem with were Umar and his manager, stressing his respect for Khabib Nurmagomedov and the wider Dagestani fighting community.
Both camps were always likely to cross paths this week. Umar Nurmagomedov is also on the RAF Abu Dhabi card, scheduled to face Urijah Faber, on an event at Etihad Arena headlined by Khamzat Chimaev’s challenge to Colby Covington.
Several questions remain open: whether Dvalishvili’s injuries will allow him to compete on Saturday, whether RAF or local authorities will take any action, and how the Nurmagomedov camp will respond to his allegations. This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
