Two mixed martial arts stars got into it, but not where they were supposed to.
PFL lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov attacked former UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili while Dvalishvili was doing an interview in a hotel lobby in Abu Dhabi, as shown in video footage posted on Wednesday, Nov. 11. Dvalishvili and Nurmagomedov's brother Umar are scheduled to compete in separate fights in RAF Abu Dhabi on Saturday, Nov. 14.
Various social media pages posted different angles of the fight, but a clip posted by Championship Rounds on X shows Dvalishvili speaking directly to a camera in a luxurious hotel lobby. Usman Nurmagomedov walks up behind him with a group of people, confronts him and slaps him in the face. A melee ensues.
Dvalishvili
posted a video to his Instagram after the incident of himself with a bloody face getting his injuries tended to. He and a friend delivered an expletive-laden message to Nurmagomedov, calling him and his posse cowards and "snakes."
"What kind of fighters you guys are? What kind of man does this?" Dvalishvili said. "If you want to talk or fight, let's do it the real way. ... We bleed, we fight, we win, but you guys are just sneaky guys. You guys not real men. It shows you guys' character. It shows you guys not real men. ... If you want to fight, fight."
Dvalishvili beat Nurmagomedov's brother Umar at UFC 311 in January 2025. Nurmagomedov is the cousin of UFC legend and former lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.
In August, Dvalishvili slapped Usman Nurmagomedov's friend Ahmed Gadzhimagomedov backstage at RAF Georgia.
MMA insider Ariel Helwani said at 9:50 p.m. ET Wednesday that he had been told that "everyone involved in the hotel brawl is still being detained by the local authorities."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Usman Nurmagomedov slaps Merab Dvalishvili, leading to brawl in Abu Dhabi hotel
