Usman Nurmagomedov is currently under intense scrutiny from the MMA world following his involvement in a violent brawl with Merab Dvalishvili in Abu Dhabi. The PFL lightweight champion attacked Dvalishvili from behind alongside his group while the Georgian was getting interviewed in the hotel lobby for his RAF clash on November 14. The former UFC champion and his friend fought back, but they were outnumbered and left bloodied. Reflecting on the incident, Daniel Cormier believes Usman could evidently get into trouble for his actions.  

“Obviously, the trash talk has become personal,” Cormier said in his YouTube video. “But at the end of the day, it cannot look like that. Because you have to imagine there’s going to be some sort of consequence. Because we cannot live a life without consequence. We are not free to operate to do anything we want without repercussions. And unfortunately, there will be repercussions. 

“One, Merab is not going to make his money this weekend at RAF. Two, Usman is going to find himself in real big trouble for this. And deservedly so. You cannot do that.  We are professionals. It’s dangerous. It’s very dangerous to fight in real life.” 

Daniel Cormier has openly warned Usman Nurmagomedov that he won’t escape consequences after getting into a bloody altercation with Merab Dvalishvili. The former two-division champion might have criticized the Dagestani for the violent incident. But ‘DC’s’ warning could very well apply to Nurmagomedov for his history of repeated misconduct.  

Before the incident involving Dvalishvili, the PFL champion had already made headlines for his controversial behavior at UFC Shanghai.

Usman Nurmagomedov became emotional after Song Yadong knocked out his elder brother, Umar Nurmagomedov, in the main event. Usman then entered the Octagon without the official’s authorization, violating the Unified Rules of MMA.

Usman also accidentally elbowed Song Yadong while the Chinese fighter was celebrating his victory, further drawing attention to his conduct. However, the Dagestani later clarified that he had not intended to elbow Yadong. Still, entering the Octagon without authorization was a clear breach of the rules and an instance of unprofessional behavior. 

Usman escaped punishment following his rule violation in Shanghai. However, his latest brawl reportedly resulted in police detaining him and others involved. Cormier has warned that if the Russian fighter doesn’t get his act together, much graver trouble could follow.

In fact, the former two-division champion drew a comparison with his infamous hotel lobby altercation with Jon Jones at the MGM Grand arena in 2014. 

“After fighting Jon Jones in the lobby of the MGM Grand and pursuing fights in so many different situations, emotions run high in rivalries,” Cormier said. “At times, I was guilty of bad behavior. But today was really bad.” 

Daniel Cormier’s warning to Nurmagomedov carries added weight because both men are part of the same team. They both trained at the American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) under Javier Mendez before Cormier took retirement. As a result, ‘DC’ ended up calling for his close friend to get his act together before anything further goes wrong.

However, Usman Nurmagomedov’s other teammate has come to his defense.  

Islam Makhachev defends Usman Nurmagomedov from ongoing criticism  

Much of the MMA world has been quick to condemn Usman’s actions for attacking a fighter like Merab, who is considerably smaller than him, that too with a group of people. However, reigning welterweight champion Islam Makhachev has placed the blame on Dvalishvili for the latest altercation.

“To those who are now condemning Usman and the guys, writing insults to them, why were you silent when Merab hit a Dagestani wrestler and insulted him?” Makhachev wrote on his Instagram Stories. “The man approached to talk to him without any evil intention.

“What happened today, Merab started in his homeland, allowing himself to hit a guest and insult his mother.”

Makhachev’s comments appear to directly reference Merab Dvalishvili slapping one of Umar Nurmagomedov’s friends during RAF Georgia earlier this year.

According to reports, Umar’s friend, Ahmed Gadzhimagomedov, tried to confront the former UFC bantamweight champion about their ongoing feud.

However, Dvalishvili previously claimed that he ended up retaliating against Gadzhimagomedov with a slap that escalated the confrontation into a brawl.

Makhachev believes that Dvalishvili slapping Gadzhimagomedov simply ignited the chain of events that eventually prompted Usman to confront the Georgian in Abu Dhabi.

Now, with Usman Nurmagomedov’s situation seemingly getting out of hand, it remains to be seen what happens next