Who Is Usman Nurmagomedov and His Tension With Merab Dvalishvili

Mixed martial artists Usman Nurmagomedov and Merab Dvalishvili's kicking and punching fight in Abu Dhabi has become a topic on social media. After the incident, people became curious about who Usman Nurmagomedov is.

Usman Nurmagomedov was born on April 17, 1998, in the city of Kizilyurt in the Republic of Dagestan, Russia. He began freestyle wrestling training at the age of eight. When his brother Umar switched to boxing, he followed him. After moving to Makhachkala, he trained at the Eagles MMA camp with his uncle Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov. There he developed sambo skills and trained with his cousins Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev. He is of Avar ethnic origin.

In his Bellator fights, he defeated Mike Hamel by unanimous decision in 2021. He stopped Luis "Manny" Muro in the first round. He submitted Patrik Pietila in the first round. In 2022, he submitted Chris Gonzalez with a guillotine choke. On November 18, 2022, at Bellator 288, he defeated Patricky Pitbull by unanimous decision to win the Bellator Lightweight World Championship belt.

The feud between Merab Dvalishvili and the Nurmagomedov family dates back to January 2025. Dvalishvili had retained the UFC bantamweight title by defeating Umar Nurmagomedov by unanimous decision at UFC 311. After Dvalishvili fought someone from Umar Nurmagomedov's circle ahead of UFC Georgia, harsh words were exchanged in the media. The fight in Abu Dhabi became the sharpest point of this tension.

Born in Georgia, the 35-year-old Dvalishvili is known by the nickname "The Machine" and has held the UFC bantamweight championship. A few weeks ago, he faced Petr Yan at UFC 333, also held in Abu Dhabi. He has recently been competing in the Real American Freestyle wrestling organization as well.