Dana White condemns Usman Nurmagomedov and Merab Dvalishvili’s brawl: ‘Idiots’

UFC president Dana White has criticised Usman Nurmagomedov and Merab Dvalishvili after their brawl in Abu Dhabi, labelling everyone involved “f***ing idiots”.

On Wednesday, Nurmagomedov interrupted Dvalishvili during an interview at a hotel, slapping the UFC bantamweight and sparking a mass brawl.

In the chaos, Dvalishvili and a friend attempted to fight off Nurmagomedov and several of the PFL champion’s comrades, with Dvalishvili ultimately left badly bloodied.

The fracas occurred days before a Real American Freestyle wrestling event, which is set to feature Dvalishvili and Usman’s brother Umar.

“What a bunch of f***ing idiots,” said UFC president and CEO White on Thursday, at the UFC 334 pre-fight press conference.

“It’s absolutely ridiculous and stupid, and they’re all in jail. That is not a place to go f*** around.”

The UFC has been linked to Nurmagomedov – cousin of UFC great Khabib – in recent weeks, with fans speculating that Wednesday’s attack could cost him a place in the promotion.

But White said on Thursday: “He’s still under contract [with the PFL]. We’re not talking him right now anyway.”

In early 2025, Dvalishvili retained the UFC bantamweight belt by outpointing Usman’s brother Umar, whose only other professional defeat came in August, when he was knocked out by Song Yadong.

In the aftermath of that knockout, Usman entered the cage and appeared to elbow Song as the latter ran around the cage in celebration. However, many viewers deemed the elbow accidental.

Also on Thursday, Nurmagomedov’s manager Ali Abdelaziz told MMA Junkie: “I’m truly sorry [about Wednesday’s events]. It’s embarrassing what happened. I hope these young men will get a good lesson. This is something that should not happen again.

“All of our guys have to set a good example [...] I haven’t slept for a couple days, trying to make it better. I don’t think there’s any words I can say to make this better. To the people of Abu Dhabi, to the leadership, this is something that will never happen again.

“We should do better as Muslims, as human beings, as athletes [...] What happened was something unacceptable and should never happen again.”