Conor McGregor Drags Ilia Topuria Into Merab Dvalishvili-Usman Nurmagomedov Brawl With Bus Attack Edit

Conor McGregor has found a new face for his infamous 2018 bus attack after Usman Nurmagomedov and his crew ambushed Merab Dvalishvili in the lobby of Abu Dhabi’s Yas Hilton hotel.

Abu Dhabi Police confirmed Thursday that they arrested eight people for fighting and two for filming it. Sean Strickland, Ilia Topuria, and several other MMA figures torched Usman for jumping "The Machine" and his friend, while Islam Makhachev accused Merab of igniting the bad blood months ago in Georgia.

Amid the fallout, the former two-division UFC champion took a cheeky shot at Topuria, hinting that "El Matador" might try to take revenge on Dvalishvili's behalf.

Merab Dvalishvili Left Bloodied After Usman Nurmagomedov Ambush in Abu Dhabi

"The Notorious," who has his own history with Team Khabib, posted an edited photo from his infamous April 2018 incident at Brooklyn's Barclays Center with Topuria's head stitched onto his body.

Back then, the Irishman threw a metal dolly through the window of a bus carrying Khabib Nurmagomedov's team after Khabib confronted McGregor's teammate Artem Lobov at a hotel. That chaos scrapped three UFC 223 fights, injured two fighters and left McGregor facing three counts of misdemeanor assault and one count of felony criminal mischief.

He also joined the #ConorWasRight hashtag trending on X. The hilarious edit, however, doubles as a jab, since Topuria has long been accused of copying his persona, while Khabib is a cousin of Usman and Umar.

Dvalishvili and Usman were both in Abu Dhabi ahead of Saturday's Real American Freestyle (RAF) wrestling event. “The Machine” is scheduled to face Marlon Moraes on the mat after his unanimous-decision loss to Petr Yan at UFC 333. Usman traveled to support his elder brother Umar, who is booked to wrestle Urijah Faber on the same card.

Instead, both camps ended up at the police station. Dvalishvili’s friend recently shared that the former UFC Bantamweight Champion was held for roughly seven hours without access to his phone or contact with family and friends. 

While it remains uncertain why Usman attacked Merab in the hotel, Islam Makhachev claimed Dvalishvili insulted the mother of Umar's teammate Akhmed Gadzhimagomedov when the Georgian slapped him in July. Once the police investigation concludes, the truth behind the attack will likely become clear.

Meanwhile, McGregor is recovering from a torn ACL and meniscus in his right knee suffered during his first-round loss to Max Holloway at UFC 329. The Irish star is targeting a return late next year for the final bout on his current UFC contract