Slap, punches and chaos: MMA fighter attacked in hotel lobby, video goes viral

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Former UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili and PFL lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov were involved in a physical altercation in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday, with videos of the incident circulating on social media.The incident took place at a hotel lobby ahead of an MMA event scheduled in Abu Dhabi this weekend. Usman, the younger brother of Dvalishvili's former opponent Umar Nurmagomedov, was seen approaching the Georgian fighter from behind before slapping him across the face.Dvalishvili is in Abu Dhabi to compete at Saturday's Real American Freestyle (RAF) event. He later posted a video on Instagram showing his bloodied face after the incident.Several videos of the confrontation were shared online, including one by former UFC lightweight champion Ilia Topuria, who is friends with Dvalishvili. After the initial slap, Dvalishvili attempted to go after Usman, leading to a fight involving members of both fighters' camps. At least six people were involved in the altercation.

Dvalishvili alleged that he and a young friend were attacked while he was giving an interview in the hotel lobby.

"Was doing an interview for RAF 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," Dvalishvili captioned the Instagram video showing him receiving treatment.

In another video following the incident, Dvalishvili referred to Usman and his team as "snakes" and questioned their actions."What a sneaky way, guys," Dvalishvili says. "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."The confrontation is the latest development in the long-running rivalry between Dvalishvili and the Nurmagomedov camp. Before defeating Umar in January 2025, Dvalishvili had called him "spoiled" and accused the Dagestani fighter of being disrespectful.The two camps were also involved in a brief altercation in July at another RAF event in Georgia.Both Dvalishvili and Umar are scheduled to compete at Saturday's RAF event. Dvalishvili will face former UFC title challenger Marlon Moraes, while Umar is set to wrestle former UFC champion Urijah Faber.