Will Usman Nurmagomedov’s cowardly attack test the UFC’s moral compass?

I don’t know about you, but the argument of “he started it” never worked especially well for me. Parents don’t care, teachers don’t care, and in the case of Usman Nurmagomedov, the UFC should not care.

On Wednesday, Nurmagomedov (cousin of MMA great Khabib) attacked UFC fighter Merab Dvalishvili at a hotel in Abu Dhabi, where the latter is due to wrestle this week. Nurmagomedov walked up behind Dvalishvili, who was being interviewed at the time, and as the Georgian turned to face him, the Russian slapped Dvalishvili, who was left visibly shocked.

Before we get into the details of what happened next, it’s worth noting that the only defence circulating online is that Dvalishvili struck one of Nurmagomedov’s friends earlier this year (UFC champion Islam Makhachev, a friend of the Nurmagomedovs, has relied on this argument in the last 24 hours). I’ll refer you to paragraph 1, and note that Dvalishvili did not sneak up on that person or outnumber them, as Nurmagomedov did with his crew on Wednesday. No, that does not justify Dvalishvili’s past act, but Nurmagomedov’s actions were similarly indefensible on Wednesday.

Dvalishvili, having been slapped, clutched his head and stared at Nurmagomedov, before a member of the latter’s entourage kicked Dvalishvili in the stomach. Dvalishvili was held back by a friend, the only ally with him, who has since been identified as 21-year-old Saba Lazishvili.

Another of Nurmagomedov’s companions punched Dvalishvili a fraction of a second later, at which point Lazishvili let him go, leading Dvalishvili to throw hands in a frenzied fashion. Nurmagomedov appeared to knee Dvalishvili in the face, before someone grabbed the Georgian from behind and slammed him face first onto the ground.

Lazishvili “stood on business”, as the kids have been saying on X, helping Dvalishvili to fight back. Somewhere in the chaos, Nurmagomedov side-kicked Lazishvili (an unusually technical form of offence in a brawl, admittedly), before striking Dvalishvili again and taking down Lazishvili. Here, the footage stopped.

The attack left Dvalishvili badly bloodied, although he took pride in Lazishvili’s performance, later joking that his friend might start MMA soon.

As successful as Nurmagomedov has been in the cage, he has arguably never have been as aggressive in a professional setting as he was on Wednesday. Curious.

Of course, one can only make so much light of this situation; a child was stood next to Nurmagomedov when the 28-year-old decided to slap Dvalishvili, and all of this was caught on camera.

As journalist Ariel Helwani rightly noted, what Nurmagomedov did was criminal. It was also cowardly, a horrid example to set, and now the UFC should arguably set its own example.

The state of play is this: Dvalishvili is a former UFC champion and still an active roster member (who beat Usman’s brother Umar in a title fight last year), while rumours have swirled that Usman will be the UFC’s next high-profile signing. Some have theorised that the unbeaten Russian, recently a champion in the PFL, could even be unveiled this weekend.

But surely the UFC is questioning whether the Russian’s value to the company is worth… all this.

You might counter: “Well, the UFC has weaponised this kind of drama before.” Indeed, when Conor McGregor threw a dolly at a bus in 2018, aiming to hurt his rival Khabib, the footage was inevitably used to promote the pair’s grudge match later that year – coincidentally (?) the biggest fight in UFC history.

Some have noted that McGregor’s attack was motivated by an incident in which Khabib confronted the Irishman’s then-teammate Artem Lobov, who was outnumbered at the time (sound familiar?). And even after Khabib submitted his rival, the “Eagle” leapt out of the cage to assault another member of McGregor’s team.

Still, others were hurt as a result of McGregor’s initial actions. The former champion was charged with three counts of assault and one count of criminal mischief and, at his arraignment, he was also charged with menacing and reckless endangerment. McGregor pleaded no contest to a count of disorderly conduct and was ordered to perform five days of community service and undergo anger management. Later that year, Michael Chiesa, one of the fighters hurt while onboard the bus, initiated a lawsuit against McGregor.

So, it is conceivable that the UFC merely ends up using this incident as fuel for a fight: not between Nurmagomedov and Dvalishvili, who is two weight classes smaller than his attacker, but between the Russian and Ilia Topuria perhaps.

Topuria, a friend of Dvalishvili and a fellow Georgian himself, tweeted: “Usman has reportedly been detained, along with the cowards who were with him. And these are the same people who dare to preach about humility and respect? What a disgrace.

“A bunch of absolute cowards. I always thought you were a bunch of mediocre individuals. Now you’ve removed every last doubt. Honor, respect, and humility aren’t words you preach. They’re values you live by. And you’ve shown none of them.”

Topuria, recently the UFC’s lightweight champion, would do major business against Nurmagomedov if the latter were to join the promotion, given 155lb is his preferred fighting weight. Yet one gets the feeling that, whether or not the UFC cares about that business, Topuria does not; he simply wants vengeance for his friend, it seems.

Either way, there are many fans who would delight in seeing Topuria knock out Nurmagomedov, with some holding a grudge against the Russian since his failed drug test in 2023. The problem is, to facilitate Topuria’s vengeance, the UFC would be sending the wrong message.

At a time when Misfits Boxing has thrived due to the chaos at its press conferences and weigh-ins, and with Real American Freestyle wrestling producing the same bedlam, the UFC could stand out from the pack by doing the right thing.

Don’t hold out hope, though. This is the same promotion whose president slapped his wife on camera just a few years ago, with no formal punishment administered at all. This latest incident will test the UFC’s moral compass, which has too often pointed in the wrong direction.