Eight sentenced over Nurmagomedov-Dvalishvili brawl in Abu Dhabi

Eight people have been sentenced over a mass brawl involving MMA fighters Usman Nurmagomedov and Merab Dvalishvili at a hotel in Abu Dhabi, with six receiving six-month prison terms and fines of £62,000 each, according to BBC Sport.

Abu Dhabi police said 10 people were arrested after the incident on Wednesday. A post by the emirate’s judicial department said all 10 defendants were convicted, BBC Sport reported.

The BBC, citing Abu Dhabi newspaper The National, said the six were also ordered to be deported after serving their sentences. Two other defendants received the same prison term and fine for filming and publishing footage of the brawl, in breach of privacy rules. The remaining two were fined £10,200 each for disturbing public security and assaulting others.

The defendants have not been named. Chad Bronstein, co-founder of Real American Freestyle (RAF), said Dvalishvili had been released from custody. The BBC said it had asked Abu Dhabi’s judicial department to confirm his release.

Dvalishvili was scheduled to fight Brazilian Marlon Moraes at an RAF event in the UAE on Saturday. After the incident, he posted a video showing his bloodied face and called Nurmagomedov and his team “snakes”. Nurmagomedov was in Abu Dhabi to support his brother Umar, who was due to fight Urijah Faber at the same event.

The teams had clashed at an RAF event in July. UFC champion Islam Makhachev, a friend and training partner of the Nurmagomedovs, suggested that the earlier altercation led to Wednesday’s brawl. UFC president Dana White called the incident “ridiculous” and “stupid” on Friday.