UFC champion Merab Dvalishvili found himself in yet another altercation tonight after watching his teammate lose in Las Vegas.
The bantamweight champion was in town for a press conference to launch his UFC 311 title defense against Umar Nurmagomedov. And while he was there, he cornered teammate Aljamain Sterling in a narrow decisive defeat to Movsar Evloev.
But it appears he got into another fight with fans afterward as he was stopped by security. It appears punches were thrown, but he wasn't involved as he was carted off to the backstage.
Merab Dvalishvili in altercation with fan at UFC 310
New footage posted by Inside Fighting this evening appears to show Merab Dvalishvili having another altercation with a fan at T-Mobile Arena. It appears that after he cornered Sterling, something happened that left him and another member of the corner team stranded.
Dvalishvili is seen saying something, being stopped by a member of event security and eventually being led away. But another person, apparently in UFC gear, appears to throw a punch over the barrier at the fan.
It is not yet clear what the cause of the incident might be. It took place just after his teammate lost for the first time at featherweight, but neither he nor anyone on their team has commented yet.
Merab Dvalishvili has a history with fans at events
This isn't the first time the bantamweight champion has been involved in an incident with a fan while attending an event. Over the summer, he jumped a barrier to confront a heckler at the Craig Jones Invitational, also in Las Vegas.
“I was there watching Jiu-Jitsu enjoying myself,” the champion told Kevin Iole after the incident, which took place just weeks before he won the title from Sean O'Malley at UFC 306. “And there was of course only one man: shouting from the fan (area): 'Merab, Sean is your father'.
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“And I looked and turned around and I looked him in the eye and said, 'Shut up,' and he kept smiling at me and he pointed at me and continued. I told him, 'Shut up, b****' and he continued. I said, 'Come here and say it to my face' and he continued.
“I gave him three warnings to come down and talk to me. It's not like on the internet where you talk to me man to man. He was just joking with his only friend, I think, he had no respect for me… I had to go to him. I said 'Tell me now' and he said 'No, no'. I bullied him.”
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