Eight sentenced to prison by Abu Dhabi court over Nurmagomedov and Dvalishvili hotel brawl

Show caption: Ten people involved in the hotel brawl in Abu Dhabi have bee…

Abu Dhabi court convicts 10 involved in altercation in Yas Island ahead of RAF Abu Dhabi event

The National

November 13, 2026

• The Abu Dhabi Criminal Court convicted 10 people following a violent brawl at a Yas Island hotel involving Usman Nurmagomedov and Merab Dvalishvili.
• Six defendants received six-month prison sentences, Dh300,000 fines and deportation orders for disturbing public security and endangering lives.
• Two individuals were separately sentenced to six months in prison for filming and publishing footage of the brawl, violating privacy laws.
• The incident stems from a long-running rivalry, with Dvalishvili having defeated Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 311 in 2025 to retain the UFC bantamweight title.
• "Usman and his buddies came up from behind and started punching me and my young friend," the Georgian fighter said, adding that security held him as attackers continued.

The Abu Dhabi Criminal Court has convicted 10 people in connection with a violent altercation in a Yas Island hotel between Usman Nurmagomedov, his associates, and Merab Dvalishvili.

Six defendants were sentenced to six months in prison, fined Dh300,000 each and ordered to be deported after serving their sentences for disturbing public security, causing panic and endangering lives, Abu Dhabi Judicial Department said in a statement.

Two others were fined Dh50,000 each for “disturbing public security and assaulting others”.

The remaining two people involved in the brawl were sentenced to six months in prison, fined Dh300,000 each and ordered to be deported “for violating privacy by using information technology to film and publish footage of the brawl”.

The court also ordered the confiscation of their phones and deletion of the footage.

The incident took place on Wednesday, when mixed martial arts fighter Dvalishvili, who was scheduled to appear at RAF Abu Dhabi on Saturday, was in the middle of an interview in the lobby of the Yas Hilton.

He was approached by Nurmagomedov and his associates. A fight ensued and footage of the incident was shared widely on social media.

Nurmagomedov was not scheduled to feature at RAF Abu Dhabi card but was in the capital to support his older brother, Umar, who is slated to face Urujah Faber.

Dvalishvili was scheduled to face Marlon Moraes in a Catchweight Crossover match at Etihad Arena on Saturday night as part of the RAF's first card in the Middle East.

After the incident, Dvalishvili posted several videos on his social media channels.

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Nurmagomedov and Dvalishvili hotel brawl leads to 10 arrests

“Was doing an interview for RAF in hotel lobby and Usman and his buddies came up from behind and started punching me and my young friend,” Dvalishvili wrote in a caption. “Security was holding me – they kept kicking us when we were down like losers.”

Dvalishvili, 35, has history with the Nurmagomedovs. In 2025, he beat Umar at UFC 311 by unanimous decision to defend the UFC bantamweight title.

The rivalry flared up again in recent months. Dvalishvili was involved in an altercation with an associate of Umar’s ahead of RAF Georgia, leading to the two trading insults.

Updated:

November 13, 2026, 12:26 PM