Full timeline of Merab Dvalishvili's bitter feud with Usman Nurmagomedov after violent brawl

Merab Dvalishvili's feud with Usman Nurmagomedov has reached a violent level after he was on the receiving end of a sneak attack in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.

UFC star Dvalishvili is in Abu Dhabi for a RAF freestyle wrestling event, where he is slated to take on Marlon Moraes.

But while giving an interview ahead of the bout, the former bantamweight champion was ambushed by Nurmagomedov - who struck him in the face before a wild brawl ensued.

The footage was uploaded by Ilia Topuria and quickly went viral online, with Dvalishvili and his friend heavily outnumbered.

A bloodied Dvalishvili took to Instagram to share a video of he and his friend afterwards, with Ariel Helwani reporting that all those involved were detained overnight in police custody as a result of the fracas.

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Many UFC fighters condemned the actions of Nurmagomedov, while UFC content creator Nina Drama called for he and his crew to be banned from stepping inside the Octagon.

UFC welterweight champion Islam Makhachev shared a different stance, with his comment on Instagram highlighting the animosity between the pair.

Merab Dvalishvili's feud with Usman Nurmagomedov explained after hotel chaos

For starters, it should be noted that Dvalishvili's issue did not initially began with Usman Nurmagomedov. Instead, he first butted heads with his brother Umar, who he faced at UFC 311 for the bantamweight champion in 2025.

The build-up got particularly spicy, with a press conference in Las Vegas in December seeing a heated backstage incident where the two had to be separated.

Things got personal, with Merab making a series of accusations - including that Umar was not worthy of facing him and that he has benefitted from his association to cousin Khabib and other Dagestani fighters.

READ MORE: Islam Makhachev goes rogue and details exactly why Usman Nurmagomedov jumped Merab Dvalishvili

In the Octagon, Merab did the business and inflicted Umar's first MMA defeat with a unanimous decision victory inside five rounds.

The beef did not stop there, though. Merab was asked if he would take on Umar in a wrestling contest for RAF, to which he said: "I don't like this guy, because he disrespect me."

Merab Dvalishvili's previous altercation sparked violence in Abu Dhabi

Then came the crucial development in the feud and the incident which Makhachev referred to. In July, after Merab defeated Henry Cejudo at a RAF event in his native Georgia, he again spoke bad about Umar Nurmagomedov when asked.

That led to Akhmad Gadzhimagomedov, a member of the Dagestani fighting clan, confronting Merab.

There is footage of the two in a heated altercation, where Merab can be seen slapping Gadzhimagomedov. However, the two both had different versions of how the situation played out - with Merab adamant he slapped in retaliation to being grabbed by the neck while being shouted at.

Gadzhimagomedov denied that recollection, stating that he did not insult or get physical and that Merab started it.

READ MORE: Usman Nurmagomedov punished by RAF after ugly Merab Dvalishvili incident filmed and posted online

Umar went forward with that same version, with Makhachev claiming that Dvalishvili insulted Gadzhimagomedov's mother.

Dvalishvili later responded to Umar's comment where he asked how he can live with himself and explained why he slapped Gadzhimagomedov.

"Umar and some small people keep talking trash about me,” Dvalishvili said in a video in social media.

“You guys probably don’t know anything about life, but I am a man, and if you come to me, pulling me over, disrespect me, start loud talk with me in a different language, I will slap your face. Because that’s who I am. That’s how I grew up. That’s my culture and that’s what you’re going to get.

“So it doesn’t matter if I am in U.S., if I am in Mexico, in Australia, or in my country Georgia. If you come with bad intentions, you’re going to get bad intentions.”

The bad intentions certainly arrived in Abu Dhabi, with Usman Nurmagomedov leading the charge.

With the United Arab Emirates strict on laws on violence in public, Nurmagomedov could be facing one year in prison and his reported signing with the UFC could be in huge jeopardy.