Merab Dvalishvili claims fan altercation at UFC 310 was set up by alleged ‘teammate and friend’ of Umar Nurmagomedov

Merab Dvalishvili doesn’t imagine his altercation with a fan at UFC 310 was an accident.

On Saturday evening, the UFC bantamweight champion ended up in an incident as he was strolling backstage after cornering pal and teammate Aljamain Sterling in his battle in opposition to Movsar Evloev. Footage captured by close by followers noticed Dvalishvili being restrained by safety with fellow teammate and UFC fighter Dennis Buzukja really throwing punches with the individual.

The fan was apparently escorted out of the sector with UFC CEO Dana White later calling Dvalishvili his “mini-[Sean] Strickland” attributable to quite a few incidents occurring outdoors the cage, which included the Georgian confronting a heckler on the Craig Jones Invitational in Las Vegas a number of months in the past.

Now Dvalishvili is asking foul on the entire state of affairs by claiming that the one that accosted him as he walked backstage is definitely a “teammate and pal” of his upcoming opponent Umar Nurmagomedov.

“Extra lies, disrespect, and deliberate provocations from Umar’s workforce,” Dvalishvili wrote on Twitter. “Right here’s the actual story,”

The “actual story” includes a minute-long video alleging that the one that acquired into the altercation with Dvalishvili is a longtime pal and supporter of Nurmagomedov and his workforce. The video voiceover alleges that the individual has quite a few photographs posed alongside Nurmagomedov and teammates resembling UFC light-weight champion Islam Makhachev.

The video additionally alleges that the entire altercation was constructed round some type of perceived disrespect by Dvalishvili in direction of UFC 310 co-main occasion fighter Shavkat Rakhmonov, who was going through Ian Machado Garry later that very same evening.

Not one of the claims have been verified by Nurmagomedov or his workforce however Dvalishvili is clearly satisfied he acquired arrange and drawn right into a calculated altercation by his subsequent opponent. When White addressed the state of affairs on the UFC 310 post-fight press convention, he acknowledged this newest situation isn’t an remoted incident for Dvalishvili.

Add to that, White says fighters usually construct up these conspiracy theories that any individual is in opposition to them and maybe that’s simply the gasoline Dvalishvili wants for the fireplace he’s constructing in direction of the eventual showdown in opposition to Nurmagomedov at UFC 311 on Jan. 18.

“Fighters are a paranoid bunch,” White mentioned. “There’s all the time some conspiracy in opposition to them. Whether or not it’s us or different folks. We make fights folks need to see. They win or lose the fights on their very own however they’re conspiracy theorists.

“They all the time assume that any individual is in opposition to them and perhaps that’s what they should do to have that psychological factor to exit and do what they do.”