Merab Dvalishvili's Friend Saba Lazishvili Eclipses UFC 334 Stars

After a chaotic week in Abu Dhabi leading up to Saturday’s RAF event, the fallout from the viral hotel lobby brawl has finally settled. Abu Dhabi police released Merab Dvalishvili and his friend, while Usman Nurmagomedov received a six-month prison sentence and several others involved were also jailed.

After the incident, many criticized Nurmagomedov and his group for ambushing Dvalishvili out of nowhere, while others defended the undefeated PFL champion over unfinished business stemming from Dvalishvili's comments in Georgia.

Yet nearly everyone is on the same page about Dvalishvili's friend, Saba Lazishvili. Branded online as a "true friend" and a "GOAT" for jumping in to defend Dvalishvili, the 21-year-old wrestler has seen his Instagram following overtake major UFC 334 headliners like Josh Hokit and Kayla Harrison.

Merab Dvalishvili's Friend Saba Lazishvili Tops UFC 334 Stars Josh Hokit and Kayla Harrison

Lazishvili's courage and quick reaction to fight for his friend made him an overnight sensation online. Before the brawl, he had about 3,000 Instagram followers. Within a day, that number passed 400,000.

At this moment, his account stands at 820,000 followers, which tops both UFC 334 main eventer Josh Hokit (565,000) and co-main eventer Kayla Harrison (430,000). It wouldn't be surprising if his follower count crosses the 1 million mark after Saturday's RAF event.

“The Machine” also praised Lazishvili for stepping in during the scuffle despite having zero MMA experience. Speaking in a video alongside Lazishvili after their release, the former UFC champion revealed that the young Georgian wrestler showed his strength against both Nurmagomedov brothers and now wants to transition into MMA.

"My young friend, he's only a 21-year-old wrestler from Georgia, and he was with me. He fought both brothers, Usman and Umar," Dvalishvili said. "He said, 'I'm moving to MMA if two guys can only do this to me.' And then he also fought the other guys. Oh my God. Security was holding me, and they were kicking and punching us."

RAF announced that Lazishvili will replace Umar Nurmagomedov against Urijah Faber on Saturday at Etihad Arena, marking his professional freestyle wrestling debut. The same night, Ciryl Gane defends the heavyweight title against Josh Hokit in New York, while Kayla Harrison meets Amanda Nunes for the women's bantamweight belt in the co-main event.

It remains to be seen if Lazishvili can sustain his massive follower spike by defeating a UFC Hall of Famer like Faber.