Saba Lazishvili, Merab Dvalishvili’s friend, is officially going from a wild hotel lobby brawl straight onto the wrestling mats this Saturday at the RAF Abu Dhabi card. He’s replacing Umar Nurmagomedov in a freestyle match against UFC Hall of Famer Urijah Faber, jumping into the event on less than a day’s notice. Talk about an absolutely bonkers turn of events!
The Hotel Chaos That Blew Up Abu Dhabi
This whole saga kicked off with a brutal group attack last Wednesday in a hotel lobby in Abu Dhabi. Lazishvili and former UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili were caught in a violent altercation alongside Usman Nurmagomedov’s entourage. Video of the incident shows Usman Nurmagomedov walking right up to Dvalishvili and then just abruptly striking him in the face, igniting a mass brawl. Lazishvili and Dvalishvili were vastly outnumbered in that mess. The aftermath videos were even worse, showing both of them with visible bruising all over their faces, and Dvalishvili was badly bloodied. Seriously, it looked gnarly. Abu Dhabi authorities detained multiple individuals after it all went down, including Dvalishvili and Lazishvili, but thankfully, they’ve since been released.
Usman Nurmagomedov’s Consequences and Dana White’s Fury
The fallout from that hotel melee was swift and severe. Usman Nurmagomedov was one of eight defendants who got hit with a six-month sentence, a fine of 300,000 UAE Dirhams, which is about $81,688, and deportation from the country once their time behind bars is up. UFC CEO Dana White didn’t mince words about it either, Thursday he called Usman Nurmagomedov and the other perpetrators “a bunch of f***ing idiots.” White laid it out at UFC 334’s pre-fight press conference, saying, “It’s absolutely ridiculous and stupid and they’re all in jail. That is not a place to go f*** around.” Pretty clear how he feels, right?
Despite the Madness, The Card Goes On
Here’s the wildest part: despite that insane incident and his subsequent detention, Merab Dvalishvili is still expected to compete this Saturday at RAF Abu Dhabi against former UFC bantamweight contender Marlon Moraes. And now, Saba Lazishvili, our new Georgian cult hero, is set to make his professional freestyle wrestling debut on the very same card. What an absolutely unbelievable week for these guys. After everything they’ve been through, for both of them to step into that arena is just wild. You’ve gotta tune in to RAF Abu Dhabi this Saturday, because this card just got a whole lot more dramatic.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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