Before the Abu Dhabi hotel brawl, Merab and the Nurmagomedov camp clashed in Georgia 👀 This was RAF Georgia in Tbilisi back in July. Ahmed Gadzhimagomedov, a world bronze medallist who trains with Umar Nurmagomedov, confronted Merab at the press event, and Merab slapped him. It turned into a backstage brawl that police had to break up. Merab’s side of it: “Somebody came and grabbed my neck.” Umar says his friend only asked why Merab was talking about him behind his back. Four months later, Usman’s crew came at Merab in a hotel lobby. Who’s really in the wrong here? 🎥 via @tony_has_died #merabdvalishvili #umarnurmagomedov #raf
Merab Dvalishvili's feud with the Nurmagomedov camp reportedly began months before the recent hotel altercation in Abu Dhabi. According to the account now resurfacing, the two sides clashed in Tbilisi in July at the RAF Georgia event, where a confrontation at the press event spilled into a backstage brawl that police had to break up.
The flashpoint was Ahmed Gadzhimagomedov, a world bronze medallist who trains with Umar Nurmagomedov. He confronted Dvalishvili at the press event, and Dvalishvili slapped him. Dvalishvili's version is that someone grabbed his neck. Umar Nurmagomedov says his friend only wanted to know why Dvalishvili had been talking about him behind his back. Four months later, a group from Usman Nurmagomedov's team reportedly went at Dvalishvili in a hotel lobby.
The fighters
Dvalishvili, 35, is the top-ranked bantamweight at 21-6-0 and sits second in the pound-for-pound rankings. The Georgian, who trains with the Serra-Longo Fight Team, averages 5.74 takedowns per 15 minutes. His most recent recorded fight was a unanimous-decision loss to Petr Yan in a title bout at UFC 333 on October 24, his second straight defeat to Yan over five rounds.
Umar Nurmagomedov, 30, is ranked fourth at 135 pounds with a 20-2-0 record. The Russian fights out of Eagles MMA and lands 3.76 significant strikes per minute at 56 percent accuracy. His most recent recorded fight was a second-round KO/TKO loss to Song Yadong on August 29.
Why it matters
- The two have met in the cage. Dvalishvili beat Nurmagomedov by unanimous decision over five rounds at UFC 311 on January 18, 2025.
- Both men are coming off recorded losses, Dvalishvili on October 24 and Nurmagomedov on August 29.
- Dvalishvili is the more active wrestler, at 5.74 takedowns per 15 minutes against Nurmagomedov's 3.94. Nurmagomedov is the more accurate striker, at 56 percent against 41 percent.
- Dvalishvili is five years older, with a one-inch reach advantage (173 cm to 175 cm in Nurmagomedov's favour, the Russian also standing 5 cm taller).
The Tbilisi incident predates the Abu Dhabi hotel lobby altercation, and the account above shows the tension between the two camps was already running through the second half of the year.
