Merab Dvalishvili has begun to address the physical altercation Saturday at UFC 310 between himself, a fan, and teammate Dennis Buzukja.
Dvalishvili and Buzukja were cornermen for Aljamain Sterling’s preliminary bout against Movsar Evloev at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. As they all were making the walk to the back after the fight, video surfaced online of Dvalishvili being restrained by security, while Buzukja threw punches at a fan.
The initial viral video did not capture what started the incident. However, on Sunday, Dvalishvili shared a video edit on social media that not only included an alternate angle of what sparked the moment but also the identity of the fan involved.
While Dvalishvili was recording his teammate Sterling walking to the back, a fan grabbed Dvalishvili’s arm, and allegedly began insulting the UFC bantamweight champion. Dvalishvili was quickly restrained by security while Buzukja approached and began punching the fan.
“Turns out he is not just fan from Kazakhstan, but a provoker,” a narrating voice said in the video.
The fan in the video was identified as Arman Tugaev, a Kazakhstani who, according to social media posts, attended the event to support his fellow countryman Shavkat Rakhmonov.
Dvalishvili believes there is more to the story, however, as photos of Tugaev with upcoming title challenger Umar Nurmagomedov were posted to the fighter’s Instagram Stories after the event. There are also past photos with Tugaev and other members of the team, including Khabib Nurmagomedov.
“This was just Dagestani’s dirty trick and provocation,” the voice in the video said.
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
After the conclusion of UFC 310, promotion CEO Dana White was asked about Dvalishvili’s recent temperament.
“He’s my mini (Sean) Strickland without the mouth,” White told reporters during a UFC 310 post-event news 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*cking fans. It’s going to cost you a lot, you can do it. It’s going to cost you a lot of money, right?”
At the time of writing, it is unclear if there will be any legal repercussions for the altercation.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 310.
