Merab Dvalishvili doesn’t want to make life harder on Usman Nurmagomedov.
On Wednesday, Nurmagomedov and a group of his associates attacked Dvalishvili and his friend Saba Lazishvili in the Yas Hotel lobby in Abu Dhabi ahead of RAF Abu Dhabi. The brawl resulted in 10 arrests, including Dvalishvili and Lazishvili, Nurmagomedov and the other five assailants, plus the two men who recorded the incident.
On Friday, it was reported that Dvalishvili and Lazishvili were released from custody and handed down
a Dh50,000 ($14,000) fine for disturbing public security and assaulting others. Nurmagomedov and the five assailants, meanwhile, were sentenced to six months in prison for disturbing public security, causing panic and endangering lives, fined Dh300,000 ($80,000) each, and are set to be deported from the United Arab Emirates after serving their sentences. The two people who filmed the brawl were also sentenced to six months in prison and hit with a Dh300,000 fine each, and a deportation order “for violating privacy by using information technology to film and publish footage of the brawl.”
But despite being the man who was attacked, Dvalishvili doesn’t want Nurmagomedov and his friends to be stuck in jail.
“We don’t want to press charges, nothing, bro,” Dvalishvili told Chris Weidman. “We say whatever we can to let them out; we try our best.”
Dvalishvili also reiterated the same sentiment on his own social media.
Just want to let everyone know I have been released and I am good, healthy and ready to go . I want to thank everyone in Abu Dhabi for your help in resolving this matter. I love visiting Abu Dhabi and am happy to be welcomed. I do hope that they release everyone – I would not press charges. I want peace and the best for all. Thanks everyone for your love and support🦾
Understandably, the brawl caused quite a stir in the MMA world, and while most people seem to agree that Nurmagomedov’s unprompted attack was wrong, some have defended his action, including UFC welterweight champion Islam Makhachev, noting that Dvalishvili slapped one of their friends at RAF Georgia earlier this year. Dvalishvili responded to that incident, saying they had talked things out shortly afterward.
“I got provoked in Georgia,” Dvalishvili told Weidman. “He told me, when I’m here, don’t talk about Umar. When I go, [I] can talk about Umar. But he yelled it at me, Russian language, and I got provoked, and I reacted like every man would. But after this, when I realized I was in Georgia and all my Georgian guys wanted to fight him, I said we can’t. I said, ‘You wanna handshake?’ He said yes, and we shake hands. Done, done, done. That was just done.
“I love Dagestan, especially all the hard-working people, bro,” Dvalishvili continued. “All the wrestlers and fighters. Nothing about Dagestan. I respect. It was just between fighters. I respect all the Dagestani people.”
