“Khabib will talk to him” - Daniel Cormier condemns Usman Nurmagomedov's attack on Merab Dvalishvili

Daniel Cormier is a close friend of Team Nurmagomedov. However, the vicious nature of Usman Nurmagomedov's attack on Merab Dvalishvili in Abu Dhabi has moved even 'DC' to take a stand and call out the fighter.

For context, earlier this week, Usman and his crew attacked Dvalishvili and his 21-year-old wrestler friend, Saba Lazishvili, in Abu Dhabi. Usman approached Dvalishvili from behind and slapped him across the face before his crew descended on the Georgians. Footage of the incident shows 'The Machine' being overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of the Nurmagomedov crew.

Usman's actions were reportedly a retributionary response to Dvalishvili striking a friend of his brother Umar during an RAF event in Georgia. The scathing attack marks the latest chapter in the bitter feud between the Nurmagomedov camp and the Georgian contingent in the UFC.

Daniel Cormier calls out Usman Nurmagomedov for attacking Merab Dvalishvili

With Cormier's close association with the Nurmagomedov camp, largely stemming from their shared ties to AKA, 'DC' has long been a steadfast ally of the Dagestani contingent. Sometimes, perhaps, to a fault, with fans even accusing the former two-division champion of showing bias towards Khabib Nurmagomedov and his team.

For context, even when Usman jumped the cage after his brother Umar was knocked out by Song Yadong at UFC Shanghai, Cormier acknowledged that the Dagestani had broken the rules but was relatively lenient toward him as he broke down the incident.

This time around, however, Cormier called a spade a spade, acknowledging the severity of the reigning PFL lightweight champion's transgressions as he called Usman out for his repeated out-of-line behaviour. 

Discussing the incident on his social media handles, Cormier said:

"Watching that visual was actually very sad. Emotions run high. At times, I was guilty of bad behavior. But today was really bad, and it should never happen. I saw somewhere that Merab had smacked someone in Georgia. One bad action should not lead to another bad action... Usman is going to find himself in real big trouble for this. And deservedly so; you can't do that. We are professionals; it's dangerous."

Responding to questions about what his response would be to the situation, Cormier added:

“I'm not trying to spin and protect anything. Bad behavior is bad behavior. I'd imagine that when Khabib gets to him and speaks to him, Khabib will talk to him about his actions and how it will affect him now, and how they affect him down the line. Usman has to control himself. Now it's been multiple times. Jumping in the ring, and now this."

Check out Daniel Cormier's take on the Usman Nurmagomedov-Merab Dvalishvili brawl below:

Dana White slams Usman Nurmagomedov and Merab Dvalishvili

While Daniel Cormier was at least measured in his criticism of Usman Nurmagomedov and Merab Dvalishvili's Abu Dhabi brawl, UFC CEO Dana White did not mince words, going scorched earth on both fighters for their unprofessional behaviour.

Addressing the incident during the UFC 334 media day, White dubbed the duo “f**king idiots” while revealing that the UFC has not entered contract talks with the Dagestani as of now:

“What a bunch of f**king idiots. It's absolutely ridiculous and stupid. And they're all in jail, and that is not a place to go fuck around... He's still under contract . We are not talking to him right now anyway.”

Check out Dana White's comments about Usman Nurmagomedov and Merab Dvalishvili below: