Paulo Costa Puts Khamzat Chimaev, Usman Nurmagomedov on Blast for 'Showing Up in Packs' After Merab Dvalishvili Attack
After Merab Dvalishvili was jumped in an Abu Dhabi hotel lobby, Paulo Costa pulled up receipts from 2022 and 2023 to argue that real fighters don't need an entourage.
After Wednesday's hotel lobby attack in Abu Dhabi, police detained Merab Dvalishvili for seven hours of questioning without his phone or any outside contact, putting the former UFC champion's Saturday match at RAF Abu Dhabi in serious doubt. Usman Nurmagomedov and the crew who jumped him were also detained for investigation.
Following the incident, UFC Light Heavyweight Paulo Costa pointed to a common pattern among Dagestani and Chechen fighters, including Khamzat Chimaev and Usman's camp. Costa accused them of "always showing up in packs" and posted a video to prove they repeatedly rely on numbers to start chaos.
Paulo Costa Posts Case File Video on Group Tactics After Merab Dvalishvili Attack
Costa recently shared a three-part "case file" video through his X account (@BorrachinhaMMA), which Championship Rounds also reposted following the Yas Hilton brawl.
The video opens with Case File #01, which shows the Abu Dhabi hotel brawl. On-screen text reads, "Merab and one friend. Against a whole crew," as Usman Nurmagomedov's group confronts Dvalishvili and his 21-year-old friend in the middle of a promotional interview.
Next, Costa uses his own past to show this is nothing new. Case File #02 revisits 2023 footage from UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi, where Costa circles himself in a crowd with the caption, "That's me. The rest? Mostly them." In the footage, one man jumps the barrier toward him and a big group rushes in behind.
Case File #03 goes back to 2022 at the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas. In the clip, a large group crowds near the cage while Costa tries to work out, with text reading, "2022. I came to train. More and more. All talking at once."
That scene connects to his run-in with Chimaev before UFC 279. At the time, Costa's training partner Jake Shields said Chimaev walked in with about 10 people, leading Costa to say he didn't need backup because he is an army of one man.
Costa ends the video with a photo of a bloodied Dvalishvili and a final caption before stamping "CASE CLOSED" across the screen.
MMA fans already know the history behind this feud. It started when Dvalishvili beat Umar Nurmagomedov for the title at UFC 311 and got worse when Dvalishvili slapped one of Umar's teammates backstage at RAF Georgia earlier this year. Still, nobody knows what made Usman attack Dvalishvili on Wednesday.
Dvalishvili's match against Marlon Moraes is now up in the air. At the same time, the brawl puts a serious dent in the image of Usman, who is widely expected to sign with the UFC after turning down a reported $2 million per-fight offer from the PFL.
As journalist Ariel Helwani pointed out on X, the big question now is how the UFC responds and if they still sign Usman after this.
