Chaos in the world of MMA. Fans are preparing for UFC 334, which takes place on Saturday, but now all eyes are on Merab Dvalishvili and Usman Nurmagomedov.
On Wednesday, Dvalishvili released a video on social media of him and a teammate with bloody faces, revealing that former PFL champion Usman Nurmagomedov and many others had jumped him. The altercation took place in Abu Dhabi, where Dvalishvili was attending an RAF Wrestling event.
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Furthermore, multiple angles of the altercation have since been released. The footage makes it clear this was premeditated.
As the footage shows, Nurmagomedov and many others walked up to Dvalishvili as he was doing an interview. Nurmagomedov slaps Dvalishvili out of nowhere, which led to a huge brawl.
The craziest part is that Usman’s team also filmed it. The clearest angle was from his side. It’s simply a dumb move by Nurmagomedov, who is currently a free agent and a potential UFC signee.
Dvalishvili and Nurmagomedov have gone back and forth before. Their beef seems to stem from Dvalishvili beating Umar Nurmagomedov in January 2025.
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Along with the initial footage, Topuria reported an update on Nurmagomedov and sounded off on him as well. Topuria’s quote on X is as follows.
“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.”
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Topuria is a longtime friend and supporter of Dvalishvili, as both have Georgian roots. Now, with Topuria enraged by this, it could set up a huge lightweight fight in the UFC.
There’s an argument to be made that actions like this should prohibit Usman Nurmagomedov from being signed to the UFC. That said, the UFC is an entertainment business, and signing Nurmagomedov still feels inevitable.
The big question has been who Nurmagomedov will fight in his debut. Now the UFC has a built-in storyline with true bad blood as an option.
It’s not nearly as big, but this situation feels similar to Conor McGregor vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov. Nurmagomedov and his team were seen in an altercation with McGregor’s teammate Artem Lobov, where he got slapped and was outnumbered.
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Dvalishvili, a fellow Georgian, got slapped by Usman and then was jumped by him and what looked like 10 others. Ultimately, this will be a story to watch in the near future, especially if Nurmagomedov signs with the UFC soon.
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