Nurmagomedov slaps Dvalishvili to spark hotel brawl

Former UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili and PFL lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov were involved in a mass brawl in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday which led to 10 arrests.

A video of the incident appeared to show Russian Nurmagomedov slap Dvalishvili after approaching the Georgian from behind.

Fighting then broke out between the two and members of their teams in a hotel lobby, with Abu Dhabi police confirming the later arrests.

"Abu Dhabi Police arrested eight individuals involved in a fight that occurred at the entrance of a hotel following previous disputes between them. They also arrested two individuals who filmed the incident and took the necessary legal measures against them," the police said in a statement.

Dvalishvili, 35, is scheduled to compete at the Real American Freestyle (RAF) event in the United Arab Emirates on Saturday, against Brazilian Marlon Moraes.

Dvalishvili called Nurmagomedov, 28, and his team "snakes" in a video he later shared on TikTok as he received treatment on his bloodied face.

"What a sneaky way, guys," Dvalishvili said.

"What kind of fighters you guys are? What kind of man does this? If you want to try, let's do it the real way."