Dvalishvili declines to press charges against Nurmagomedov after Abu Dhabi hotel attack

Merab Dvalishvili has publicly called for Usman Nurmagomedov’s release from an Abu Dhabi jail, telling reporters and his social media followers that he will not press charges against the man who attacked him at the Yas Hotel earlier this week.

On Wednesday, Nurmagomedov and a group of associates ambushed Dvalishvili and his friend Saba Lazishvili in the Yas Hotel lobby ahead of RAF Abu Dhabi. The brawl led to ten arrests in total, sweeping up both parties as well as two bystanders who filmed the incident.

By Friday, Abu Dhabi authorities had handed down their verdicts. Dvalishvili and Lazishvili were released and fined Dh50,000 ($14,000) each for disturbing public security and assaulting others. Nurmagomedov and his five associates received six-month prison sentences, Dh300,000 ($80,000) fines each, and deportation orders from the United Arab Emirates upon release. The two individuals who filmed and published footage of the brawl were also sentenced to six months in prison and fined Dh300,000 each, with a deportation order issued for violating privacy through the use of information technology.

Despite being the victim of an unprovoked attack, Dvalishvili made clear he bears no desire for further punishment. “We don’t want to press charges, nothing, bro,” he told former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman. “We say whatever we can to let them out; we try our best.”

He echoed the same message on social media: “I do hope that they release everyone — I would not press charges. I want peace and the best for all.”

The incident has divided opinion across the MMA community. While the majority have condemned Nurmagomedov’s attack as unprovoked, UFC welterweight champion Islam Makhachev was among those who offered a partial defence, pointing to an earlier altercation at RAF Georgia in which Dvalishvili slapped one of their associates.

Dvalishvili addressed that episode directly, explaining that he had been verbally provoked in a language he understood and reacted instinctively — but that the two parties had shaken hands and resolved the matter before leaving Georgia. “After this, when I realized I was in Georgia and all my Georgian guys wanted to fight him, I said we can’t,” Dvalishvili said. “I said, ‘You wanna handshake?’ He said yes, and we shake hands. Done, done, done.”

Dvalishvili confirmed he is uninjured and ready to compete, saying he remains a welcome visitor to Abu Dhabi and holds no ill will toward the wider Dagestani fighting community.