Merab Dvalishvili: Fan Altercation at UFC 310 Was Set Up By Umar Nurmagomedov

Merab got into ANOTHER altercation with a fan after Aljamain Sterling lost to Mosvar Evloev. 👀 #UFC310 pic.twitter.com/MBeKMmvQkZ

— InsideFighting (@InsideFighting_) December 8, 2024

Merab Dvalishvili believes his altercation with a fan was orchestrated by future opponent Umar Nurmagomedov and his team.

Dvalishvili was in attendance at UFC 310 on Saturday at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. “The Machine” cornered his friend and teammate Aljamain Sterling, who dropped a decision against Movsar Evloev on the preliminary card.

Dvalishvili got into an altercation with a fan as he was walking backstage with Sterling after the fight. Footage shows the fan initially grabbing Dvalishvili by the arm while recording him. Dvalishvili’s teammate, Dennis Buzukja, was later seen throwing punches at the fan while security restrained Dvalishvili. This isn’t the first time that Dvalishvili has been involved in this type of incident, as he confronted a spectator at the Craig Jones Invitational in Las Vegas this past August.

“He’s my mini-[Sean] Strickland — without the mouth,” UFC CEO Dana White said in regards to Dvalishvili at the UFC 310 post-fight press conference. “What do you do? Let him buy the pay-per-view, I guess. I don’t know. You can’t keep fighting with f—ing fans. You can do it. It’s going to cost you a lot of money. I don’t know.

“I say it all the time. We’re in the f—king fight business. This happens. We’ve got to deal with it.”

However, Dvalishvili claims his latest fan altercation was set up by his upcoming opponent. The bantamweight champ shared a social media post offering video evidence that the fan involved is a friend of Nurmagomedov and his team. In the video, Usman Nurmagomedov, Islam Makhachev and Khabib Nurmagomedov are seen posing for pictures with the fan who heckled Dvalishvili on Saturday night. Dvalishvili is scheduled to put his title on the line against Usman Nurmagomedov at UFC 311 on Jan. 18 at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, California.

“More lies, disrespect, and deliberate provocations from Umar’s team,” Dvalishvili wrote on X. “Here’s the real story …”

More lies, disrespect, and deliberate provocations from Umar’s team. Here’s the real story … pic.twitter.com/btwTzJrC0D

— Merab “The Machine” Dvalishvili (@MerabDvalishvil) December 8, 2024

Dvalishvili won the bantamweight title with a dominant unanimous decision win over Sean O’Malley at UFC 306 this past September. He has consistently downplayed Nurmagomedov’s claim to a title shot, accusing the Dagestani of enjoying privileges due to his relation to “The Eagle.” Meanwhile, Nurmagomedov is undefeated in 18 career outings — including six in the UFC — the biggest of which came against fellow top contender Cory Sandhagen this past August.