🥊 Merab Dvalishvili, Usman Nurmagomedov held in Abu Dhabi brawl

Merab Dvalishvili and Usman Nurmagomedov are reportedly in custody in Abu Dhabi after a hotel lobby fight on Wednesday, Nov 11, ahead of this weekend's Real American Freestyle event. DAZN says Dvalishvili was mid-interview when Nurmagomedov approached with several associates and appeared to slap him. The brawl that followed is on video.

The peg for this story is a reported police confirmation of a round of arrests. That confirmation, and any headcount, is not in the reports read. What is there is a patchwork of detentions, with one family member's account standing in for an official one.

Who says what

Dvalishvili's version, as quoted by the New York Post from a video he posted to X on Wednesday: he was ambushed from behind. The Post says he and his friend faced at least five other men.

"Was doing an interview for RAF [Real American Freestyle wrestling league] in hotel lobby and Usman and his buddies came up from behind and started punching me and my young friend. Security was holding me – They kept kicking us when we were down like losers,"

Merab Dvalishvili, in a video posted to X on Wednesday, as quoted by the New York Post

DAZN says the footage confirms a physical confrontation, but the full sequence and the competing allegations have not been independently established. It also says the precise circumstances that prompted the confrontation remain disputed.

On the custody side, Yahoo Sports reports that Nurmagomedov was picked up by local authorities, followed by an update that Dvalishvili and Lazishvili were taken in for questioning. Zviad Lazishvili said in a video released on social media that his brother Saba and Dvalishvili are in jail and may stay 48 hours before a judge decides. He says they were defending themselves. Ilia Topuria wrote on X that Nurmagomedov had reportedly been detained, per Sports Illustrated.

Islam Makhachev defended Nurmagomedov on Instagram Stories, per DAZN, arguing that Dvalishvili's earlier conduct in Georgia had contributed to the tension. Topuria took the other side, per DAZN and Sports Illustrated.

The response

DAZN says Nurmagomedov had not publicly provided a detailed account at the time of its initial report. The New York Post and ClutchPoints both say neither the UFC nor RAF had commented as of Thursday. No public statement from Abu Dhabi authorities was found in the reports read.

What happens next

The only timeline on record is Zviad Lazishvili's: possibly 48 hours, then a judge decides, per Yahoo Sports. No charges, hearing date or official release timing appears in the reports read. Whether Saturday's RAF card is affected is also not addressed.

Backstory

Dvalishvili beat Nurmagomedov's brother Umar by unanimous decision at UFC 311 in January 2025, per the New York Post and DAZN. DAZN also reports that earlier this year, at an RAF event in Georgia, Dvalishvili slapped Akhmed Gadzhimagomedov, an associate of the Nurmagomedov camp. Sports Illustrated notes Dvalishvili has since relinquished the bantamweight belt to Petr Yan at UFC 323.

As of Nov 12, 9:17 AM ET, what is confirmed is that a confrontation happened in an Abu Dhabi hotel on Nov 11, that Dvalishvili posted a video saying he was attacked, and that outlets report detentions. Pending: an official police account, any charges, a judge's decision, the arrest count, Nurmagomedov's own version and any UFC or RAF response.