UFC Bantamweight Champion Merab Dvalishvili found himself in the middle of an altercation with a fan shortly after cornering Aljamain Sterling for his bout against Movsar Evloev at UFC 310 last month.
Security intervened to separate Dvalishvili from the individual. However, tensions flared further when the fan began exchanging punches with Dennis Buzukja, a UFC featherweight and another member of Sterling’s team.
UFC CEO Dana White addressed the incident during the post-fight press conference with a mix of frustration and understanding.
“He’s my mini-Strickland — without the mouth,” White said of Dvalishvili. “What do you do? Let him buy the pay-per-view, I guess. You can’t keep fighting with f*cking fans. You can do it, but it’s going to cost you a lot of money. I say it all the time: we’re in the f*cking fight business. This happens. We’ve got to deal with it.”
Dvalishvili shared his perspective in an interview with MMA Fighting, expressing gratitude for White’s support and addressing the situation in detail.
“He defended me,” Dvalishvili said. “Before, the media would always ask him weird questions about me, like, ‘What about Merab doing this?’ They do that to get a bad answer from him. But this time, he defended me. The media again says, ‘Merab is scared of Umar.’ Bro, Dana knows I’m not scared. Every time they mention his name, I say yes, and Dana knows that’s true.”
Describing the incident with the fan, Dvalishvili explained his side of the story.
“Yeah, so Umar’s friend tried to provoke me and make me look bad. I’m a professional fighter. I love people. Usually, when I walk through the crowd, I show everyone love and support. But this guy was recording me [on his phone]. I thought he was being friendly, so I went closer. I was smiling, but then he started speaking Russian, using bad words. I know those words. He provoked me, and I wanted to fight the guy, but security jumped in.”
He also reflected on the negative energy surrounding some fans and media members.
“Thank you to Dana for defending me. I love the UFC; I’m grateful for this company. But there are so many haters and so many people — also in the media — who aren’t professional. Drama sells more, and that’s why they ask crazy questions. But I have a good relationship with the UFC, and we have no problems.”
Dvalishvili will now shift his focus to defending his title for the first time against undefeated contender Umar Nurmagomedov at UFC 311 this Saturday night.