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Umar Nurmagomedov reacts to Merab Dvalishvili brawling with friend at RAF event: ‘How do you live with that?’

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2 months ago

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Umar Nurmagomedov reacts to Merab Dvalishvili brawling with friend at RAF event: ‘How do you live with that?’

Umar Nurmagomedov and Merab Dvalishvili have gone five rounds in the octagon before and they almost became physical again at a recent RAF event in Georgia.

At the inaugural RAF Georgia event this past July, fans caught footage of one of Nurmagomedov's friends getting into an altercation with Dvalishvili during a pre-fight press conference. Dvalishvili responded aggressively to fan question asking if he would wrestle Nurmagomedov in an RAF wrestling match, saying, “No, never, f*ck that guy. Whoever RAF choose, I'll fight. Except this spoiled guy.â€

Later, Dvalishvili and Nurmagomedov's friend (named “Ahmad,†according to Nurmagomedov) had a scuffle in the crowd.

Nurmagomedov criticized Dvalishvili for his behavior in a conversation with MMA journalist Adam Zubayraev.

“He's the one who has to live with it,†Nurmagomedov said in Russian (English translation via Zubayraev). “For example, can you imagine a Georgian coming up to me in Dagestan? … If a Georgian tells me not to talk to Merab, and I hit him from behind and insult him in my own language, I can't imagine myself doing that. But as a person, how do you live with that?

“And the people who defend it, that means there's something wrong there. You have to call wrong things wrong. No matter who does it.â€

Nurmagomedov claimed that Ahmad went to exchange words with Dvalishvili, but did not initiate the physicality, and that it's Dvalishvili who is responsible for the confrontation escalating.

“Yeah, Ahmad walked up to him and said, ‘Why are you speaking for someone who isn't even here?'†Nurmagomedov said. “He didn't insult him, didn't say anything rude, didn't show any disrespect. He said, ‘Tell him to his face what you want to say. Why are you swearing here?'â€

The beef between Dvalishvili and Nurmagomedov dates back to 2024, when Nurmagomedov was rising through the bantamweight ranks as an undefeated fighter chasing Dvalishvili at the top of the division. They were eventually booked to fight at UFC 311 in January 2025, with Dvalishvili outworking and outlasting Nurmagomedov to win a unanimous decision and retain his UFC title.

Nurmagomedov, who looks to make it three straight wins when he fights Song Yadong in the main event of UFC Shanghai on Aug. 29, has spoken of rematching Dvalishvili, but until that day comes he wants little to do with his Georgian rival.

“I swear, I don't care at all what he does or how he feels,†Nurmagomedov said. “I'm being honest with you. In general, there are probably people who want to prove something. Brother, I have nothing to prove to anyone and I have nothing to prove to Merab and I have nothing to prove to Georgians. I just want to live my life, that's it.â€

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MMA

Andre Fili discusses not landing extra shots after epic UFC knockout: ‘I’m a criminal, but I’m not a piece of s***’

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4 hours ago

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October 11, 2026

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Andre Fili discusses not landing extra shots after epic UFC knockout: ‘I’m a criminal, but I’m not a piece of s***’

Andre Fili knows where to draw the line.

On Saturday, Fili scored possibly the best knockout of his career, knocking out Kai Kamaka III with a head kick on the main card of UFC Vegas 122. The finish was brutal, putting Kamaka out before he even hit the canvas, but as he rushed forward to finish the fight, Fili pulled up before landing any follow-up shots, realizing Kamaka was unconscious.

At his post-fight press conference afterward, Fili expounded on the moment.

“I say this all the time: I'm a criminal, but I'm not a piece of shit,†Fili said. “I don't litter. I treat people with respect. And when I knock someone out, there's no reason to land that extra shot. He's got kids, he's got a wife, he's got a future outside of fighting. It's just not necessary, man. I hope he's OK. I didn't even really want to watch the replay back.

“Hurting people is part of the sport. I like being good at fighting. I like winning fights. I like getting paid to win fights. I like being on TV. Hurting people is a byproduct of that; it's not a driving force for me. So I'm not gonna land that extra shot.â€

Widely seen as one of the “good guys†of MMA, Fili has been a UFC veteran since 2013, and seemed to be getting emotional during his post-fight scrum. When asked about why, Fili explained.

“I poured everything I am, and everything I have into this performance, and I just really — I'm not scared of anybody in that cage,†Fili said. “Any apprehension or nerves or excitement or butterflies, it's all because I want to perform. I want to make my people proud, I want to make myself proud. I want to perform the way I know I can perform. And when it works out that way, it feels really good.

“And now I'm making enough money to where I can change the trajectory of my entire family. I come from violence and drug abuse and poverty. I live below the poverty line in America, which I know is different from being in some of these other countries, but it's below the poverty line nonetheless, and I'm here to break some generational curses. This shit's hard work.â€

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MMA

Christian Leroy Duncan eyes UFC title shot with Brendan Allen win

Published

6 hours ago

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October 11, 2026

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Christian Leroy Duncan eyes UFC title shot with Brendan Allen win
Christian
Leroy Duncan believes a win over Brendan
Allen would warrant a shot at
Ultimate Fighting Championship gold or a matchup with a former
titleholder.

Duncan (15-2) is scheduled to headline
UFC Vegas 122 against Allen (27-7) on Saturday at Meta Apex in
Las Vegas. The Englishman has defeated Roman
Dolidze and Jared
Cannonier in his last two outings and hopes a victory over
Allen will earn him one of those opportunities.

Christian Leroy Duncan targets former champion as next step
after Brendan Allen

Duncan is 8-2 in the UFC and has won five straight fights. He
believes an impressive performance against Allen could propel him
past other middleweight contenders or put him one step closer to a
title shot.

‘I don't see why not [a title shot next],†Duncan told MMA
Fighting. “We get a good performance this weekend, I don't see why
not… Brendan Allen being Top 4, it puts us in that title contention
section where we've got Strickland and Imavov who are supposed to
be fighting next. We've got DDP amongst that mix of former
champions. It will be great to then put my hat in at the top level.
This year I fought Roman being a Top 15 fighter, Cannonier being a
Top 10 fighter and now Brendan Allen being a Top 5, so the natural
progression from that would be a former champion.â€

Middleweight champion Sean
Strickland has said compensation remains an obstacle to
finalizing the first title defense of his second reign, with
Nassourdine
Imavov his expected challenger. Former champions Khamzat
Chimaev and Dricus Du
Plessis are also seeking another fight with the 185-pound
titleholder. Chimaev lost the belt to Strickland earlier this year,
while du Plessis holds two wins over the American.

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MMA

Josh Hokit rips Alexander Volkov, teases move to light heavyweight

Published

1 day ago

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October 10, 2026

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Josh Hokit rips Alexander Volkov, teases move to light heavyweight
Josh
Hokit believes Alexander
Volkov will never get a chance to fight him.

Hokit (10-0) is scheduled to challenge Ciryl Gane
(14-2, one no contest) for the
Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight title at UFC
334 on Nov. 14 at Madison Square Garden in New York. Volkov has
criticized Hokit since the title fight was announced, and the
American has responded.

Josh Hokit says Alexander Volkov will never get his chance,
mocks heavyweight résumé

Volkov considers Hokit an easy matchup and predicts that Gane will
defeat the unbeaten contender. In response, Hokit compared their
records, noting that he defeated Derrick
Lewis and Curtis
Blaydes, both of whom beat Volkov.

“Drago†has won consecutive decisions over Jailton
Almeida and Waldo
Cortes-Acosta and is scheduled to face Rizvan
Kuniev at
UFC 333 on Oct. 24 in Abu Dhabi. Hokit added that Blaydes
defeated both Almeida and Kuniev. “The Incredible Hok†claims he
will already be dominating the light heavyweight division by the
time Volkov earns a fight with him.

“Volkov saying he'd beat me easy is funny… He'll never get the
chance,†Hokit wrote on X. “I just beat Blaydes and Lewis. Volkov
lost to BOTH. Now he's fighting Kuniev (who Blaydes beat), after
squeaking by Almeida (who Blaydes dominated). I’m going to kill
Ciryl, who he lost to twice. Zero finishes, pure boring. By the
time you earn a fight with me, I'll already be dominating LH.â€

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