Eight jailed after hotel brawl involving Nurmagomedov and Dvalishvili in Abu Dhabi
Eight people received prison sentences following a mass brawl involving MMA fighters Usman Nurmagomedov and Merab Dvalishvili at a hotel in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday, Abu Dhabi's judicial department said, with all 10 defendants convicted over the incident.
A video circulated online appeared to show Russian Nurmagomedov slapping former UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili from behind, after which members of both teams became involved; Abu Dhabi police confirmed the incident led to 10 arrests. Dvalishvili, 35, who has won 21 of his 27 professional fights, is scheduled to compete at the Real American Freestyle (RAF) event in the United Arab Emirates on Saturday against Marlon Moraes.
A report in the National supplied further details of the court rulings: six defendants were sentenced to six months in prison, fined £62,000 each and ordered deported upon serving their terms after being convicted of "disturbing public security, causing panic and endangering lives".
The National added two other defendants received the same six-month prison term, fines of £62,000 and deportation, but were convicted for "violating privacy by using information technology to film and publish footage of the brawl". The remaining two defendants were fined £10,200 each for "disturbing public security and assaulting others".
None of the convicted have been named publicly, and Real American Freestyle co-founder Chad Bronstein said Dvalishvili had been released from custody. "I'm pleased to share that Merab Dvalishvili is back with us in Abu Dhabi," Bronstein said in a statement. "We would like to express our sincere appreciation to the relevant authorities in Abu Dhabi for their professionalism and support. "We remain focused on moving forward and are pleased to have Merab back with us." BBC Sport has asked Abu Dhabi's judicial department for confirmation.
Dvalishvili posted a video after the incident in which he called Nurmagomedov and his team "snakes" while receiving treatment for a bloodied face. Usman Nurmagomedov, 28, was in Abu Dhabi to support his brother Umar, who had been due to face American Urijah Faber on Saturday; Umar was replaced in that bout by Dvalishvili's team-mate Saba Lazishvili, who was also involved in the hotel brawl but appears to have been released from custody.
Nurmagomedov's and Dvalishvili's camps previously clashed at a RAF event in July, and UFC champion Islam Makhachev — described in reports as a close friend and training partner of the Nurmagomedovs — suggested that altercation contributed to the Wednesday incident. Nurmagomedov is the PFL lightweight champion and is out of contract after winning his last bout with the organisation in July; he has been linked with a move to the UFC, but on Friday the promotion's president Dana White said he had not spoken to the Russian and called the altercation "ridiculous" and "stupid", describing the participants as "a bunch of idiots".
Dvalishvili remains scheduled to fight Marlon Moraes at the RAF event in the United Arab Emirates on Saturday.