Dvalishvili and Nurmagomedov questioned in Abu Dhabi after violent altercation
UFC fighters Merab Dvalishvili and Usman Nurmagomedov were taken to Abu Dhabi police station following a brawl recorded during a RAF event.
Brawl recorded at RAF event in Abu Dhabi: two UFC stars face Emirati police
According to rmcsport.bfmtv.com, citing sports journalist Ariel Helwani, Merab Dvalishvili (35 years old) and Usman Nurmagomedov (28 years old) were summoned to an Abu Dhabi police station on Wednesday to be questioned. The incident occurred in the United Arab Emirates, on the sidelines of an event organised by RAF, the new freestyle wrestling organisation launched last year.
Dvalishvili, former UFC bantamweight champion with dual American and Georgian nationality, was there to prepare for his fight against Brazilian Marlon Moraes scheduled for the weekend. He was promoting RAF when Nurmagomedov and members of his team interrupted him. Videos widely circulated on social media show the altercation quickly turning into an exchange of blows between the two groups.
Dvalishvili spoke on his social media, his face bloodied: "Usman and his mates came from behind and started hitting me and my young friend. Security was holding me back. They kept kicking us like losers while we were on the ground. You are nothing but cowards. You are not real men."
Ariel Helwani, who followed the matter closely, emphasised that there is nothing to suggest that Dvalishvili filed a formal complaint against Nurmagomedov. The latter is the brother of Umar Nurmagomedov, whom Dvalishvili defeated in January 2025 at UFC 331. Despite the absence of an official complaint, the public and filmed nature of the incident was sufficient to trigger intervention by Emirati authorities.
"Objectively, what happened to Merab amounts to criminal behaviour," Helwani stated. "Everything was filmed. It is not one person's word against another's. They approached him as a group, slapped him, then started beating him and his friend."
The judicial outcome of this interrogation has not yet been made public.
Source: Google News MA — Crime (fr)