UFC Star Merab Dvalishvili Violently Attacked By Former Bellator/PFL Champ During RAF Interview (Att
Former UFC bantamweight king Merab Dvalishvili shockingly revealed in a Wednesday video post that during an interview to promote his upcoming wrestling match for Real American Freestyle (RAF), he was attacked by recent PFL lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov and a gang of his friends.
Following a hard-fought loss in a trilogy title fight against Petr Yan last month, Dvalishvili will return to action Saturday in a bout with former WSOF champion Marlon Moraes on the undercard of RAF Abu Dhabi. However, the bout may now be off after a wild turn of events today.
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Dvalishvili posted a video on his social media today with a bloodied face and getting medical treatment. In the caption for the post, the 35-year-old wrote, “Was doing an interview for RAF in hotel lobby, and Usman [Nurmagomedov] and his buddies came up from behind and started punching my young friend and me. Security was holding me. They kept kicking us when we were down, like losers.”
Merab Dvalishvili victim of ‘sneaky’ attack by Usman Nurmagomedov
In the video, Dvalishvili added more details to the incident. He claimed that Nurmagomedov and a group of friends came from behind like “snakes” and attacked the Georgian and his friend. “You are just sneaky guys. You are not real men. It just shows your guys’ character,” he said. “What the f***, guys. If you want to fight, let’s fight. We are fighters, bro.”
Footage of the attack, which can be found above and below, has made its way online and seems to back up Dvalishvili’s claim that Nurmagomedov and a posse of pals were looking for trouble and blindsided the UFC and his friend.
New Footage of Usman Nurmagomedov And His Team Jumping Merab Dvalishvili 😳 pic.twitter.com/YZVaOPDLeF
— Kevin (@realkevink) November 11, 2026
Nurmagomedov, who is also the cousin of UFC lightweight icon Khabib Nurmagomedov, is a former Bellator champion who defended his PFL lightweight title successfully in July before the company was merged with MVP MMA.
Reports recently claim that the 90-day non-compete clause in his PFL contract expired at the end of last month, and he is now officially a free agent. However, one has to wonder if today’s stunning incident might make the UFC wary of adding the very talented 22-0 fighter.
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