Usman Nurmagomedov and His Whole Squad Just Ambush-Slapped Merab Dvalishvili From Behind in a Hotel Lobby Like An Absolute Insane Asylum

Merab Dvalishvili was standing in an Abu Dhabi hotel lobby doing a standard media interview for Real American Freestyle when the Dagestani welcoming committee showed up. Usman Nurmagomedov, the former PFL lightweight champ and free-agent cousin of Khabib, walked up with a group of friends, got Merab’s attention from behind, and started swinging. What followed was a full-on lobby brawl that left Merab and his 21-year-old Georgian wrestler buddy bloodied while security reportedly held Merab in place so the group could keep working.

The video that has been circulating shows the whole ugly sequence. Merab is talking to a camera when Usman, in a black T-shirt and cap, approaches with several others. Usman lands a slap or punch to the face. Things immediately turn into a multi-person scrap. Bodies go to the ground. People are grabbing, swinging, and kicking. Merab later said the numbers were roughly 20 against two. The available footage doesn’t show quite that many, but it clearly shows a group of at least seven or eight against Merab and one young friend. The kid, according to Merab, ended up fighting both Usman and his brother Umar while security was dealing with Merab.

Merab posted his own aftermath video while medical staff cleaned blood off his face. He has visible cuts, a swollen eye, and the general look of someone who just got jumped in a hotel lobby. In the clip he calls them “snakes from behind,” says “what kind of men does this,” and repeatedly points out that they waited until it was just two of them and they were unprepared. He also said security was holding him while the group kept kicking and punching once he was down. His exact framing: they were fighting like warriors, the other side was fighting like pussies.

This did not come out of nowhere. Merab beat Umar Nurmagomedov by unanimous decision at UFC 311 in January 2025 to defend the bantamweight title. The bad blood has been simmering since. In July at RAF Georgia, Merab got into it with Ahmed Gadzhimagomedov, a friend and training partner of Umar’s. Footage from that incident shows Merab throwing the first slap after Gadzhimagomedov confronted him over comments Merab had made. Merab has said the guy grabbed him by the neck and started yelling in Russian about Umar. That one already turned into a wider scuffle. Wednesday’s incident looks like the next chapter, only this time the numbers were worse and it happened while Merab was mid-interview.

Ilia Topuria, Merab’s friend and fellow former UFC champion, posted the video and called the attackers “a bunch of cowards” and “anything but real men.” He later claimed Usman and some of the group had been detained. That detail has not been independently confirmed in the initial reports, but the video itself is clear enough that nobody is seriously arguing the approach was clean.

Merab is scheduled to wrestle Marlon Moraes at RAF Abu Dhabi this weekend. Whether he still makes that match is an open question. He has already taken visible damage, and hotel lobby brawls are not ideal prep for anyone. Usman, for his part, is a free agent after finishing his PFL contract and has been linked to a UFC move. This is not the kind of highlight package that usually helps those negotiations.

There are two ways to look at this. One is that Merab has been talking shit and has already gotten physical with people in Umar’s orbit, so some kind of response was coming. The other is that walking up on a guy from behind during an interview with a whole crew, landing the first shot, and then having security hold him while your side keeps throwing is not how actual fighters settle anything. Merab has been calling it exactly that: sneaky, unmanly, and the opposite of what fighters are supposed to do. The video does not make it easy to disagree with him.