UFC President Dana White commented on the brawl involving Usman Nurmagomedov, Merab Dvalishvili and members of their teams in Abu Dhabi. According to him, everyone involved is in jail, and what happened was “absolutely ridiculous and stupid.”
The incident broke out ahead of Dvalishvili’s scheduled wrestling bout against Marlon Moraes at the Real American Freestyle event this weekend. On Wednesday, Dvalishvili posted a video showing him with a bloodied face.
Footage of the incident was subsequently circulated. It shows Usman Nurmagomedov approaching Dvalishvili and slapping him. Nurmagomedov and several members of his team then got into a brawl with Dvalishvili and a friend of his.
According to reports, Abu Dhabi police arrested eight people following the incident. In his statement, Dana White did not specify which participants he was referring to when he said that everyone had been detained, nor did he indicate what action would be taken in the case.
White was asked to comment on the brawl during a press conference ahead of UFC 334. He said that such incidents were not good for business because they cast everyone involved in a bad light.
“Everyone is in jail in Abu Dhabi now. We’ll see how things develop,” the UFC president said.
The case is unfolding on the eve of the Real American Freestyle event, where Dvalishvili is scheduled to face Marlon Moraes. The published information contains no additional details about the bout’s status or the next decisions regarding the arrests.