Mixed Martial Arts-Several jailed over Abu Dhabi hotel brawl ahead of RAF event

Nov 13 - A court on Friday convicted 10 people over a brawl involving Mixed Martial Artists Usman Nurmagomedov, Merab Dvalishvili and their teammates at a hotel ahead of a wrestling event, the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department posted on X.

The brawl broke out ahead of a wrestling event organised by Real American Freestyle (RAF), where Nurmagomedov's brother Umar and Dvalishvili were scheduled for matches against different opponents.

"An Abu Dhabi court has convicted 10 defendants in connection with a brawl inside a hotel and has sentenced them to six months’ imprisonment... along with deportation from the country," said the announcement from the judicial department.

Media reports said Usman Nurmagomedov was among six people sent to jail and fined 300,000 dirhams ($81,600) each, while former UFC bantamweight champion Dvalishvili and his teammate Saba Lazishvili were fined 50,000 dirhams each and released from custody.

Two additional people were handed six-month prison sentences for privacy violations after they filmed the brawl and published the footage online, the reports added.

Reuters has reached out to the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department and Usman's representatives for comment.

The brawl broke out as PFL lightweight champion Usman and his teammates approached Dvalishvili and Lazishvili. Videos shared online showed Usman slapping Dvalishvili, which started the melee.

Later on Friday, the event organisers removed Umar from the card, replacing him with Lazishvili.

Dvalishvili remains available for his scheduled match with Marlon Moraes, the RAF added in a statement. REUTERS