Merab Dvalishvili‘s rivalry with Umar Nurmagomedov appears to have spilled beyond the Octagon. Just a day before competing against Henry Cejudo in a wrestling match at Real American Freestyle in his native Georgia on July 11, the former UFC bantamweight champion was caught in a massive altercation with a fan of Umar Nurmagomedov.

During the RAF Georgia presser in Tbilisi, a reporter supposedly asked Dvalishvili about a potential wrestling match with his rival, Umar Nurmagomedov. To this, the Georgian responded aggressively: “No, never. F–k that guy… Except this spoiled guy, I’ll fight whoever RAF chooses.”

Following his statements, a supporter of Khabib’s cousin approached Merab. In the clip, the UFC champ can be heard asking him, “What’s your problem?” The fan then confronted Dvalishvili in Russian about his remarks and seemingly touched the former champion. This enraged the 35-year-old, who then proceeded to slap the fan, triggering a chaotic, full-scale brawl between the two opposing camps. Soon, security teams swarmed the UFC champ and attempted to pull him away from the brawl, which led to more people getting involved and punches being thrown. Clips of the altercation have since made their way online.

What blew it out of proportion is the presence of two of Russia’s renowned wrestlers, Abdulrashid Sadulaev and Razambek Zhamalov, who are also competing at the freestyle wrestling event. Since both share close ties with Team Khabib, it’s possible that there were many wrestlers from Dagestan at the presser. This is what prompted multiple men to get involved in the altercation. While it’s not clear if Umar Nurmagomedov himself was present at the event, the incident nevertheless reignited one of the UFC’s most heated recent rivalries.

Ahead of their UFC 311 bout last year, the Georgian former champion called his opponent “a spoiled little baby” in an interview with The Schmo and also claimed Umar had been “disrespectful” towards him.

That bad blood was on full display when both fighters got into a heated altercation that forced security to intervene and separate them before the pre-fight presser. Later, Merab and Umar continued trading barbs during the pre-fight press conference, adding even more fuel to their already fiery rivalry. At the fight, ‘The Machine’ ended up beating ‘Young Eagle’ via unanimous decision and retained the bantamweight gold.

However, if yesterday’s altercation suggests anything, it’s that their animosity is still very much alive. But this isn’t the first time Merab has had a run-in with a fan.

During the Craig Jones Invitational (CJI) in August 2024, while Dvalishvili was sitting cage-side in the VIP section, attempting to enjoy the jiu-jitsu tournament, a fan in the upper rows began repeatedly shouting at him, yelling, “Sean is your daddy!” After verbally warning the fan to stop and be quiet, the Georgian realized the heckling wasn’t going to end. Merab then took matters into his own hands. He hopped over the metal VIP barrier, climbed directly into the spectator stands, and grabbed the heckler by his hair and hat. The fan immediately panicked, shrank back, and apologized as security quickly pulled Dvalishvili away.

While the 35-year-old’s animosity with Umar Nurmagomedov is still very much alive, this is far from the first time a Real American Freestyle event has witnessed a heated altercation. Another renowned UFC star also created a massive ruckus at one of the promotion’s events, an incident that has since been etched into the promotion’s history.

Arman Tsarukyan and Georgio Poullas engaged in a massive brawl at an RAF event

When it comes to heated altercations, Arman Tsarukyan is no stranger to them. The Armenian has been part of many such incidents in the UFC, and he continued that trend in RAF, too. Ahead of his RAF 6 wrestling match, Tsarukyan engaged in a bad-blood rivalry with Giorgio Poullas, with both men trading verbal jabs before tensions eventually spilled over when they shared the mat.

During the showdown, Tsarukyan shoved his opponent before landing a knee and a punch, breaking the rules of the match. This prompted both corners to storm the mat and land punches and kicks at each other before the security intervened to restore order.

Former UFC fighter Colby Covington was also present as the chaos unfolded. He even escorted Poullas backstage while chanting “USA” in support of the former NCAA champion.

Tsarukyan later justified his actions by claiming Poullas tried to “eye poke” him multiple times during the showdown, forcing him to retaliate. However, many believed the Armenian had done enough to be expelled from any further competition. Still, RAF Chief Chad Bronstein confirmed that he wasn’t banned from the promotion. As a result, Tsarukyan and Poullas ran it back at RAF 7, where ‘Ahalkalakets’ secured a comfortable victory without much controversy.

Real American Freestyle may be a different promotion that only hosts wrestling bouts, but it wouldn’t be a stretch to say UFC fighters have been engaging in more heated rivalries there than in Dana White’s promotion in recent days.