Merab Dvalishvili was sitting down for an interview in the lobby of the Yas Hilton on Wednesday when Usman Nurmagomedov walked up with a group and slapped him, triggering a brawl that left the UFC bantamweight champion bloodied on camera.

By late Wednesday night, the story was no longer just an MMA grudge. According to The National, citing reporting from MMA journalist Ariel Helwani, both camps were taken in by Abu Dhabi authorities for questioning after the incident.

“As of this writing, everyone involved in the hotel brawl is still being detained by the local authorities, I’m told,” Helwani wrote on X.

Dvalishvili’s account

Dvalishvili posted a video to Instagram shortly after the altercation, his face swollen and bloodied as medics worked on him.

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“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,” he wrote.

He said security tried to pull him out of the scrum while the attackers kept going, adding that he and his friend were kicked on the ground.

Nurmagomedov, the PFL lightweight champion, is in Abu Dhabi to support his brother Umar Nurmagomedov, who is scheduled to compete at RAF Abu Dhabi on Saturday, 14 November. Usman himself is not on the card.

A fight card that just got complicated

Dvalishvili was in the UAE to face Marlon Moraes in a catchweight crossover bout on the same RAF Abu Dhabi show. He is not matched against any member of the Nurmagomedov camp.

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The incident builds on an earlier confrontation between Dvalishvili and Ahmed Gadzhimagomedov, a close associate of the Nurmagomedov brothers, at a prior RAF event. That exchange had already turned the Dagestani camp and the Georgian champion into an open feud before anyone checked into the Yas Hilton.

RAF organizers said they would address the attack at their pre-event press conference on Thursday. Whether Dvalishvili still walks out on Saturday is one open question; whether Usman Nurmagomedov is permitted to be anywhere near the venue is another.

Strickland: “lifetime ban for everyone involved”

The response from across the sport has been loud. Writing in Forbes, Brian Mazique noted that former UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland had posted on X that Usman Nurmagomedov is “the definition of a b*tch” and called for a “lifetime ban for everyone involved” in a comment under Dvalishvili’s Instagram post.

Will there be charges?

On the legal question that is now driving the story, the picture is still forming. Helwani reported that Dvalishvili does not intend to file a criminal complaint, but UAE authorities retain the discretion to act on the video evidence independently of any complaint from the victim.

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RAF Abu Dhabi is scheduled for Saturday, 14 November at Etihad Arena on Yas Island, with Umar Nurmagomedov still listed to fight and Dvalishvili’s status to be clarified at Thursday’s press conference.

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