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Dana White on Abu Dhabi brawl: "There's literally a fistfight at every single one of these"

In an interview with Eurosport, White said fights usually break out when "the whole Khabib crew shows up" and rejected the idea that they help the UFC: "No, it's never good."

By Combat Sports UK Staff · Published · AI-assisted reporting
Dana White speaking in an interview with Eurosport
Photo: Eurosport

Dana White said "there's literally a fistfight at every single one of these" as he reacted to the Abu Dhabi brawl in an interview with Eurosport.

White said fights usually break out when "the whole Khabib crew shows up". He named no one as the person who started the brawl. "I mean, there's literally a fistfight at every single one of these," he said.

He rejected the idea that scenes like that help the UFC. "People always ask me, oh, isn't this good for you? No, it's never good," White said. He added: "We're in the fight business, and if you don't handle your business right, that's the kind of stuff that's going to happen at your event."

Usman Nurmagomedov slapped Merab Dvalishvili in Abu Dhabi this week while the former UFC bantamweight champion was giving an interview, days before RAF Abu Dhabi. Members of Nurmagomedov's team, including his brother Umar Nurmagomedov, then joined in.

White also addressed the brawl at the UFC 334 press conference in New York on Thursday, and Nurmagomedov's manager Ali Abdelaziz has apologised to the city of Abu Dhabi.

UFC 334, headlined by Ciryl Gane against Josh Hokit for the heavyweight title, is at Madison Square Garden on Saturday. The main card starts at 2am UK time on Sunday on TNT Sports.

In this story
Merab DvalishviliUmar NurmagomedovCiryl GaneJosh Hokit
READ NEXTDvalishvili still competing at RAF Abu Dhabi as Saba Lazishvili replaces Umar NurmagomedovRead the next story →

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About this report

Reported by the Combat Sports UK desk. Times are UK and Irish time, and we update the report when the facts change. How we work.