Merab Dvalishvili says Usman Nurmagomedov and friends attacked him in Abu Dhabi hotel lobby

Former UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili says he and a friend were attacked from behind by Usman Nurmagomedov and a group of his friends in a hotel lobby in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday, November 11. Dvalishvili made the claim on his X and Instagram accounts at around 16:05 UTC (19:05 Moscow time), three days before he is due to wrestle Marlon Moraes at Real American Freestyle's Abu Dhabi card at Etihad Arena on Saturday, November 14.

This is Dvalishvili's account. Nurmagomedov, his team, RAF and local authorities had not commented publicly at the time of publication, and no independent footage of the incident itself has been released.

What Dvalishvili said

"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," Dvalishvili wrote on X. "Security was holding me - They kept kicking us when we were down like losers."

The post came with a two-minute selfie video in which Dvalishvili has blood on his face and a cut near his eye, while a man in medical gloves cleans the wound. In the video, which POP MMA transcribed, he names Usman Nurmagomedov directly and says the group "came like a snake from behind."

"I just came here in Abu Dhabi and then Usman Nurmagomedov and his friends came from behind to try to beat us. So many guys," Dvalishvili said. "I'm fine, guys. All my friends, family, I'm fine. I'm a fighter and this is nothing for me, but again it shows what kind of people you guys are."

He also said it was "like 20 guys against two guys" and challenged the group: "If you want to fight, fight. Let's fight. We are fighters."

Some fan and aggregator accounts on X also named Umar Nurmagomedov as being involved. Dvalishvili's post and video, as we heard them, name only Usman.

A long-running feud with the Nurmagomedov camp

Dvalishvili's rivalry with the Nurmagomedov team goes back to his title win over Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 311 in January 2025, the only loss of Umar's pro career. Before that fight the two had to be separated backstage at a UFC promotional event in Las Vegas, Sportsnet reported at the time.

In July 2026, the night before Dvalishvili beat Henry Cejudo at RAF Georgia in Tbilisi, a backstage scuffle broke out between Dvalishvili and Umar's training partner Ahmed Gadzhimagomedov. Footage published by MMA Mania showed Dvalishvili throwing the first punch. Dvalishvili later told Ariel Helwani that Gadzhimagomedov had grabbed him by the neck and yelled at him about Umar, Sherdog reported. Umar responded on X at the time that "who you really are is shown when there's no crowd and no one to step in."

Where things stand

Usman Nurmagomedov, the unbeaten PFL lightweight champion and cousin of Khabib Nurmagomedov, became a free agent at the end of October. Unconfirmed reports this week claimed he could be unveiled as a UFC signing at UFC 334 on Saturday. Dvalishvili lost his trilogy fight with Petr Yan at UFC 333 in Abu Dhabi on October 24 and is booked to face Moraes in a freestyle wrestling match on the RAF Abu Dhabi card headlined by Khamzat Chimaev vs Chris Weidman.

It is not yet known whether the incident will affect Dvalishvili's participation on Saturday. We will update this story if Nurmagomedov, RAF or the authorities respond.