Former UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili is still sitting in an Abu Dhabi jail cell after being attacked by a group of Dagestani fighters led by Usman Nurmagomedov on Wednesday afternoon.
Dvalishvili was in Abu Dhabi to compete against Marlon Moraes at Real American Freestyle’s debut event in the country, but things went sideways after PFL lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov and a group of men jumped Dvalishvili from behind. Numerous videos from various angles show Nurmagomedov instigating
the fight and a group of his friends ganging up on Merab, who had no one but friend and national Georgian wrestling champion Saba Lazishvili by his side.
Reports then came that Usman Nurmagomedov had been picked up by local authorities, and then an update that Merab Dvalishvili and Saba Lazishvili had also been taken in for questioning. Now Lazishvili’s brother Zviad says Merab and Saba have been detained and may be held for 48 hours until a judge decides what to do with them.
“Unfortunately, my brother Saba and Merab, both of them are in jail up until now,” Zviad said in a video released on social media. “They are not released yet, and they’re saying that they might stay there 48 hours and then a judge will decide how things will unfold, which I think is totally unfair because my brothers didn’t do anything bad. They were just defending themselves, and they had no other choice but to fight and fight back.”
That argument may help Dvalishvili and Lazishvili eventually, but Abu Dhabi is a notoriously strict country when it comes to law and order, especially when it involves outsiders. After years of f—king around, some of these guys may be about to find out.
“So please, whoever has the power or some connections to help them out, speak up and come forward,” Lazishvili’s brother concluded. “Already some Georgian guys, very good friends, contacted us and they’re trying to get some lawyers and get the situation worked out.”
