Saba Lazishvili is going from a hotel brawl to the wrestling mats.
The 21-year-old Georgian wrestler, who was involved in Wednesday’s violent altercation alongside former UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili and Usman Nurmagomedov’s entourage, has been added to Saturday’s RAF Abu Dhabi card at Etihad Arena in the United Arab Emirates.
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Lazishvili will replace Umar Nurmagomedov — the older brother of Usman Nurmagomedov — in a freestyle wrestling match against UFC Hall of Famer Urijah Faber, jumping into the event on less than a day’s notice.
Lazishvili and Dvalishvili were victims of a brutal group attack Wednesday in a hotel lobby in Abu Dhabi, led by Usman Nurmagomedov. Video of the incident showed Nurmagomedov approaching Dvalishvili then abruptly striking him in the face, igniting a mass brawl in which Lazishvili and Dvalishvili were vastly outnumbered.
Video of the incident’s aftermath showed both Lazishvili and Dvalishvili with visible bruising all over their faces, and Dvalishvili badly bloodied.
Abu Dhabi authorities detained multiple individuals following the incident, including Dvalishvili and Lazishvili, who have since been released.
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In total, Usman Nurmagomedov was one of eight defendants to receive a six-month sentence, a fine of 300,000 UAE Dirhams (approximately $81,688) and deportation from the country following their stays behind bars.
UFC CEO Dana White on Thursday called Usman Nurmagomedov and the other perpetrators in the attack on Dvalishvili and Lazishvili “a bunch of f***ing idiots.”
“It’s absolutely ridiculous and stupid and they’re all in jail,” White said at UFC 334’s pre-fight press conference in New York City. “That is not a place to go f*** around.”
Despite the incident and his subsequent detention, Dvalishvili is still expected to compete Saturday at RAF Abu Dhabi against former UFC bantamweight contender Marlon Moraes.
And now Lazishvili will make his professional freestyle wrestling debut on the card.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: Sports.yahoo.com
