Umar Nurmagomedov Arrested Following Abu Dhabi Melee, Merab Dvalishvili Shares Update
Former UFC bantamweight title challenger Umar Nurmagomedov has also been arrested after the Wednesday altercation.
For context, on Wednesday, Dvalishvili and his friend Saba Lazishvili were attacked by Umar Nurmagomedov’s brother, PFL lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov, and several members of his team. Usman slapped Merab, and the rest of his team also attacked “The Machine” and Saba.
Following the melee, everyone involved, including those who filmed it, was detained.
Hours later, reports emerged that Usman Nurmagomedov and seven others had been sentenced to six months behind bars, handed hefty fines, and would be deported after completing their sentences.
Merab and his friend were each fined AED 50,000 and subsequently released. Real American Freestyle (RAF) agreed to cover the fines for both Dvalishvili and Lazishvili.
Meanwhile, reports have emerged today that Umar Nurmagomedov, who arrived shortly after the altercation, has also been arrested by Abu Dhabi Police. Merab confirmed the same while speaking to MMA Pros Pick.
“I’m most disappointed in Umar. When the altercation was over, he came afterward and could have handled the situation with dignity… I won’t talk about that right now, since he is still in custody. I hope he gets released soon. I don’t know if I’ll speak about this afterward, but Umar is the only person I’m truly disappointed in because he didn’t behave himself the way a proper athlete and human should.”
Check out Merab Dvalishvili‘s comments about Umar Nurmagomedov below:
“The Machine” and Umar Nurmagomedov are not really on good terms. When Umar got a title shot at UFC 311, Dvalishvili was the bantamweight champion. The now-35-year-old didn’t consider the Russian a worthy challenger and believed he was fast-tracked to a championship opportunity because of Umar’s relationship with UFC legend Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Merab defeated Umar by unanimous decision. After the loss, the challenger called for a rematch. Umar had broken his hand during the UFC 311 bout, which he thinks is the reason he lost and thus wanted another chance to face “The Machine” to see how he would perform if he was not injured. Merab, however, has never expressed any desire to run it back with Umar despite the numerous callouts.
Merab Dvalishvili Had Forgiven Umar Nurmagomedov
A few weeks ago, however, Merab showed support for Umar after the latter was sent to the shadow realm by China’s Song Yadong.
Before UFC 333, when Merab arrived in Abu Dhabi, he told his fans and friend Aljamain Sterling that he and Umar had buried the hatchet. The Georgian also trained at Khabib Nurmagomedov’s gym. Merab is puzzled as to why Umar chose to continue their feud.
Despite all the bad blood, the former UFC bantamweight titleholder still hopes that Umar, Usman, and everyone involved who got arrested after attacking him get released soon.