A mass brawl broke out in a hotel lobby in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday. Former UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili and PFL lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov were at the centre of it, BBC Sport reported. A video appeared to show the Russian approach the Georgian from behind and slap him. Fighting then erupted between the two men and members of their teams.
Dvalishvili, 35, later posted a video on TikTok while receiving treatment for his bloodied face. In it, he called Nurmagomedov, 28, and his team "snakes". He also challenged them: "What kind of fighters you guys are? What kind of man does this? If you want to try, let's do it the real way."
Two-weight UFC champion Ilia Topuria, a friend of Dvalishvili, shared the footage on X. He wrote that Usman had "reportedly been detained" along with those who were with him. He also called the group cowards. BBC Sport did not independently confirm any detention.
The Nurmagomedov camp pointed to an earlier clash. UFC champion Islam Makhachev is a close friend and training partner of the Nurmagomedovs. He suggested that the trouble stemmed from an altercation between the two camps before a Real American Freestyle (RAF) event in July. He accused Dvalishvili of hitting a Dagestani wrestler. "Merab started what happened today in his homeland by allowing himself to hit a guest and insulting his mother," Makhachev wrote.
The rivalry runs deeper. Dvalishvili called Usman's older brother, Umar Nurmagomedov, "spoiled" before beating him in a bantamweight title fight in 2025.
Both camps are due on the same card this weekend. Dvalishvili is scheduled to face Brazilian Marlon Moraes at the RAF event in the United Arab Emirates on Saturday. Umar Nurmagomedov is due to take on American Urijah Faber at the same event.
Usman Nurmagomedov is a free agent after his last fight with the PFL. He has been heavily linked with a move to the UFC. MMA fighters often compete at RAF events alongside their careers in bigger promotions. Khamzat Chimaev, Arman Tsarukyan and Colby Covington have all appeared there recently.