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Opinion: Usman Nurmagomedov’s Cheap Shot on Merab Dvalishvili Was a Cowardly Move That Deserves to Be Called Out
Usman Nurmagomedov, his brother Umar Nurmagomedov, and their teammates jumped Merab Dvalishvili earlier today in Abu Dhabi. While “The Machine” was filming a clip ahead of his next RAF outing, Usman approached him from behind. Dvalishvili turned around to shake hands with the PFL champion, but Usman suddenly slapped him. Dvalishvili took a few seconds to process what had just happened before chaos erupted as the Russian fighters began attacking the former 135-pound champ and his friend.
Although Dvalishvili was outnumbered, he and his friend still managed to teach Usman, Umar, and the others a lesson. During the melee, “The Machine” also suffered cuts and bruises to his face, including around his left eye.
Check out the altercation below:
Please note: The views expressed in this article are the author’s own.
Last month, ahead of UFC 333, Merab Dvalishvili told his friend Aljamain Sterling that he had squashed his beef with Umar Nurmagomedov and was even interested in training at Khabib Nurmagomedov’s gym before the Petr Ya trilogy bout. Dvalishvili also showed support for Umar following his brutal KO loss to Song Yadong.
Earlier this year at RAF Georgia, Dvalishvili slapped one of Umar Nurmagomedov’s teammates after he tried to get in his face. However, the incident did not escalate into a full-blown brawl as the Georgian crowd ensured no one in attendance got hurt.
Selon certaines informations, l’altercation aurait débuté après que 🇬🇪 Merab Dvalishvili aurait giflé un lutteur du RAF, proche de la team de 🇷🇺 Usman Nurmagomedov. L’entourage d’Usman serait ensuite venu lui rendre la pareille, avant que la situation ne dégénère dans l’hôtel. pic.twitter.com/2RB8kaEGC4
— MMA PROPAGANDE 👊🇫🇷 (@MMAPropagande) November 11, 2026
Later, Dvalishvili also apologized for the incident, and until today, things have remained cordial between “The Machine” and Team Khabib.
Merab Dvalishvili trained at Khabib’s gym in Abu Dhabi just a few weeks ago
He even said everything was good between him and Umar Nurmagomedov 🤔 pic.twitter.com/4zE9lUPoke
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) November 11, 2026
Usman really had no reason to attack Merab like that. The move was completely unexpected, especially with “The Machine” being caught off guard and heavily outnumbered. Dagestani fighters have a history of similar confrontations. They previously attacked Conor McGregor after UFC 229 and jumped Dillon Danis during the same brawl, and also at UFC 322, they attacked Danis.
More recently, after Umar was knocked out by Song Yadong, Usman jumped into the octagon to check on his brother and nearly attacked Yadong. So far, the ones involved in such melees have not received major punishments. But now it’s really time. The fighters involved in today’s brawl deserve stricter punishments for their actions, especially for targeting one of the sport’s best and friendliest personalities, Merab Dvalishvili.
Ilia Topuria TORCHES Usman Nurmagomedov and others for attacking Merab Dvalishvili
According to Merab Dvalishvili’s close friend and former two-division champion Ilia Topuria, Usman Nurmagomedov and his teammates have already been detained. Topuria blasted Usman and others, posting on X:
“Usman has reportedly been detained, along with the cowards who were with him. And these are the same people who dare to preach about humility and respect? What a disgrace. A bunch of absolute cowards. I always thought you were a bunch of mediocre individuals. Now you’ve removed every last doubt. Honor, respect, and humility aren’t words you preach. They’re values you live by. And you’ve shown none of them.”
Check out Ilia Topuria’s comments below:
Usman has reportedly been detained, along with the cowards who were with him.
And these are the same people who dare to preach about humility and respect? What a disgrace. A bunch of absolute cowards.
I always thought you were a bunch of mediocre individuals. Now you’ve removed… https://t.co/crZZVzK2ae
— Ilia Topuria (@Topuriailia) November 11, 2026
Will the UFC still sign Usman Nurmagomedov? We can only hope not. As for now, we will have to wait and see what the Abu Dhabi authorities have in store for Usman and his teammates and whether Merab Dvalishvili decides to take legal action against them.
The latest I’m hearing is that everyone involved in the Merab Dvalishvili/Usman Nurmagomedov altercation, including Merab and his friend, are at the police station for questioning.
My understanding is that Merab isn’t the one pressing charges, but the incident happened in public… pic.twitter.com/q5Tj1hMTeW
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) November 11, 2026