Former UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili was attacked by Usman Nurmagomedov during a heated exchange in Abu Dhabi.
The fighters are in Abu Dhabi for the RAF event this weekend. But before the matches even started, there was a skirmish at the hotel involving Dvalishvili and Team Nurmagomedov.
Usman Nurmagomedov Attacks Merab Dvalishvili
First, Dvalishvili took to his social media to share a photo of himself and a friend with a bloodied face, saying that he was attacked by Nurmagomedov and his team.
“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. Security was holding me – They kept kicking us when we were down like losers,” Dvalishvili said.
Then, former UFC lightweight champion Ilia Topuria shared a video of Nurmagomedov and his team attacking Dvalishvili and his friend, confirming the story.
Holy sh*t 😳
To this point, Team Nurmagomedov has not issued a statement about this incident yet. But based on the video that is making the rounds on social media, things are not looking good for him right now based on what we’ve seen.
Usman Nurmagomedov Is a Free Agent
One of the questions that arises from this is that Nurmagomedov is now a free agent, so will this attack change the way the UFC views him as a potential signing?
He is obviously an amazing lightweight fighter in MMA, but this incident and the issue this summer with Song Yadong at UFC Shanghai are both big problems.
It’s possible that, since this incident between Nurmagomedov and Dvalishvili didn’t take place at a UFC event, the world’s leading MMA promotion will look the other way and not care about what happened here.
But at the same time, perhaps it’s a situation where Nurmagomedov is more trouble than he’s worth, and the UFC is better off passing on signing him.
It remains to be seen what the UFC will think about this incident, but since UFC president Dana White will be speaking to reporters this weekend at UFC 334, he will certainly be asked about this incident.
Merab Dvalishvili Attacked By Usman Nurmagomedov