Martial

A brawl broke out between the two MMA fighters and their team members inside a hotel before a wrestling event.

The Abu Dhabi Criminal Court has convicted 10 people over a mass brawl ⁠involving mixed ⁠martial artists Usman Nurmagomedov, Merab Dvalishvili and their teammates at a hotel.

The brawl broke out ahead of a wrestling event organised ⁠by Real American Freestyle (RAF), where Usman Nurmagomedov’s brother Umar and Dvalishvili were scheduled for matches against different opponents.

“An Abu Dhabi court has convicted 10 defendants in connection with a brawl ‌inside a hotel and has sentenced them to six months’ imprisonment … along with deportation from the country,” read the announcement from the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department on Friday.

ESPN reported that six members of Team Nurmagomedov were sentenced to six months in prison, fined 300,000 dirhams (approximately $81,600) and ordered to be deported after serving their sentences.

According to Abu Dhabi-based The National newspaper, former UFC bantamweight ⁠champion Dvalishvili and a friend were fined 50,000 dirhams ($13,600) for “disturbing public security and assaulting others”.

Two additional people were handed six-month prison sentences for privacy violations after they filmed the ⁠brawl and published the footage online, the reports added. The court also ordered the confiscation of their phones and deletion of the footage.

The brawl broke out on Wednesday when Georgian Dvalishvili, who was scheduled to appear at RAF Abu Dhabi on Saturday, was being interviewed in the lobby of the Yas Hilton.

PFL lightweight champion Usman – the cousin of retired MMA legend Khabib Nurmagomedov – and his associates approached Dvalishvili. Videos shared online showed ‌Usman coming in from behind and slapping Dvalishvili, which started the melee.

Usman was not scheduled to feature at the RAF Abu Dhabi card but travelled to the UAE capital to accompany his older brother, Umar, who was scheduled to face Urijah Faber.

Later on Friday, the event organisers removed Umar from the card, replacing him ‌with ‌Saba Lazishvili, Dvalishvili’s friend who was also involved in the brawl.

RAF cofounder Chad Bronstein said Dvalishvili has been released from custody. He remains available for his scheduled match with Marlon Moraes.

“I’m pleased to share that Merab Dvalishvili is back with us in Abu Dhabi,” Bronstein said in a statement. “We would like to express our sincere appreciation to the relevant authorities in Abu Dhabi for their professionalism and support.”

Dvalishvili posted several videos on social media after the incident and released his personal statement on X, saying: “Just want to let everyone know I have been released, and I am good, healthy and ready to go.

“I want to thank everyone in Abu Dhabi for your help in resolving this matter … I do hope that they release everyone; I would not press charges. I want peace and the best for all,” he added.

Wednesday’s incident wasn’t the first time Dvalishvili and Team Nurmagomedov clashed. Tensions also escalated in January last year after Dvalishvili defeated Usman’s older brother Umar in a UFC bantamweight title fight. They also had a smaller altercation at an RAF event in Georgia in July.

Former president faces renewed death penalty demand as he appeals life sentence for insurrection.

South Korean prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for former President Yoon Suk-yeol over his failed attempt to impose military rule.

The team led by special prosecutor Cho Eun-suk renewed the demand at an appeal hearing in Seoul on Thursday, arguing that Yoon’s actions threatened South Korea‘s democracy.

He was sentenced to life imprisonment in February after being convicted of leading an insurrection.

Prosecutors had previously sought the death penalty at Yoon’s original trial in January, but the court sentenced him to life imprisonment the following month.

At Thursday’s hearing at the Seoul High Court, a prosecutor said there was “no reason to hesitate” over imposing the death penalty, according to South Korea’s Yonhap news agency.

South Korea retains the death penalty but has not carried out an execution since 1997.

Prosecutors argued that this long pause should not prevent judges from sentencing Yoon to death.

Yoon declared martial law on December 3, 2024, deploying soldiers and police to the National Assembly, South Korea’s parliament.

Lawmakers overcame a security blockade to vote down the measure, forcing the government to withdraw it about six hours after it was announced.

The lower court found that Yoon had tried to stop parliament from functioning, detain political opponents and remain in control of the country for an extended period.

Yoon’s lawyers told reporters on Thursday that he had intended to warn an opposition-controlled parliament against what he considered attempts to obstruct his government, not to establish authoritarian rule.

Speaking at the Seoul High Court on October 27, Yoon also denied seeking to establish a long-term dictatorship, according to the Hankyoreh newspaper.

The crisis led parliament to impeach Yoon in December 2024. South Korea’s Constitutional Court, which decides whether to uphold impeachments, removed him from office in April 2025.

The appeals court plans two more hearings, including Yoon’s final statement on November 5.

Alexander Volkanovski secured a total knockout in the closing seconds of second round at UFC 333 in Abu Dhabi.

Australia’s Alexander Volkanovski has retained his featherweight title after making short work of Russia’s Movsar Evloev in the UFC 333 main event in Abu Dhabi.

Volkanovski secured a technical knockout (TKO) with a right hand, followed by a ground-and-pound move in the closing seconds of the second round of their scheduled five-round fight on Saturday.

The official time was 4:54, as the fight was called off with six seconds left to the jubilation of the Etihad Arena crowd in the United Arab Emirates capital.

It was Evloev’s first professional loss and he remained classy in defeat.

“Like I said, Alex is a great champion and it was an honour to share the cage with him,” Evloev said after the loss.

Meanwhile, Volkanovski said he wants to keep stacking wins for as long as he can.

“I’m choosing to do [fight], I don’t have to. I said if I didn’t take too much damage, we will probably keep going. So maybe we keep going,” Volkanovski said.

In the co-main event, Petr Yan won his three-fight series against Merab Dvalishvili in a Russia vs Georgia showdown as Yan swept the scorecards 48-47, 48-47, 48-47 with a mix of a gruelling pace, wrestling, dirty boxing and keeping Dvalishvili at distance to defend his UFC bantamweight title.

Yan beat Dvalishvili last December to regain the title for the second time, having previously won it in July 2020 against Jose Aldo at UFC 251.

The finishes kept coming, but this time in the flyweight division. England’s Lone’er Kavanagh secured a TKO stoppage against Uzbekistan’s Ramazan Temirov with an uppercut, followed by strikes, at 4:28 of Round 1.

At heavyweight, Russia’s Alexander Volkov won a unanimous decision over Rizvan Kuniev utilising dominant wrestling and top control to earn his third-straight win. Volkov called for a title shot at Thursday’s presser, which may have stumped UFC CEO Dana White when addressing him.

Kuniev had his two-fight winning streak snapped.

Opening the main card, Aaron Pico needed just over a minute to TKO Losene Keita of Guinea in their featherweight fight. Pico has won back-to-back fights, while Keita has split his last four.