Brawl follows Abu Dhabi hotel interview between MMA fighters

Video circulating online appears to show Usman Nurmagomedov striking Merab Dvalishvili during an interview in a hotel lobby in Abu Dhabi on November 11, before a larger brawl involving people from both fighters’ entourages. Dvalishvili later shared footage of himself receiving medical treatment, with blood visible on his face. The video supports that a confrontation occurred but does not establish who initiated the wider fight or what each person did.

Dvalishvili said Nurmagomedov and associates attacked him and a friend from behind while he was recording an interview for Real American Freestyle (RAF). He described himself and his companion as outnumbered and posted that security was holding him while people continued to hit them. In a separate video, he said he was fine. His account of the attack and the size of the group has not been independently established by the footage.

Nurmagomedov has not publicly addressed the incident in the reports. UFC welterweight champion Islam Makhachev, a friend and teammate of the Nurmagomedov family, offered a different account of the dispute’s background. He said Dvalishvili had earlier struck a Dagestani wrestler and insulted his mother...