Nurmagomedov's Manager Apologises After Dvalishvili Brawl

Ali Abdelaziz has apologised on behalf of Usman Nurmagomedov following the PFL lightweight champion's hotel brawl with Merab Dvalishvili in Abu Dhabi. The longtime manager told MMA Junkie the incident was unacceptable and should never happen again.

Nurmagomedov attacked Dvalishvili at an Abu Dhabi hotel earlier this week, igniting a melee that involved multiple fighters from both camps. The confrontation stemmed from an earlier incident at an RAF event in Georgia, where Dvalishvili slapped one of Nurmagomedov's teammates. Local authorities detained Nurmagomedov and several others involved in the altercation. He now faces a potential jail sentence if convicted and has been barred from attending RAF Abu Dhabi this weekend, where he planned to support a teammate at the PFL event.

Abdelaziz Says Both Parties Were Wrong

In his statement to MMA Junkie, Abdelaziz expressed regret for the incident while acknowledging the circumstances that led to it. "On behalf of myself and my team, I want to apologize to the whole city of Abu Dhabi about what occurred the other day," he said. "What happened was something unacceptable. And this is something that should never happen again."

Abdelaziz added that both fighters shared blame for the confrontation. He noted that Nurmagomedov was defending his brother after the Georgia incident but stressed there was no excuse for the violence. The manager said his immediate concern is Nurmagomedov's wellbeing rather than his fighting career, and called for an end to videos circulating from Georgia and Dagestan that could further inflame tensions.

UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier, a close ally of Team Khabib, separately condemned Nurmagomedov's actions. Whether Dvalishvili will press charges remains unclear. Nurmagomedov is scheduled to appear at a court hearing in Abu Dhabi later this week.

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• BJPenn — Usman Nurmagomedov’s manager slams ‘unacceptable’ Merab Dvalishvili brawl