Pimblett Stirs the Pot as Merab Gets Jumped in Abu Dhabi

We summarize the day's news in our own words. Full credit to the outlets below for the original reporting, click through to read their work:

• “Is He Georgian, Is He Spanish, Is He German?” Paddy Pimblett Goes After Ilia Topuria (LowKick MMA)
• Aljamain Sterling's next UFC opponent wants to help his friend Merab Dvalishvili (Sherdog)
• UFC’s Merab Dvalishvili ambushed by Usman Nurmagomedov and group in Abu Dhabi (Yahoo Sports MMA)
• Nurmagomedov slaps Dvalishvili to spark hotel brawl (Yahoo Sports MMA)
• Merab Dvalishvili jumped by Khabib Nurmagomedov’s cousin to spark hotel brawl (Yahoo Sports MMA)
• ‘Deplorable sh*t’: Pros condemn Usman Nurmagomedov, friends for jumping Merab Dvalishvili (MMA Fighting)
• Conor McGregor reacts to Usman Nurmagomedov attacking Merab Dvalishvili with Ilia Topuria revenge hint (Bloody Elbow)
• Josh Hokit receives support in UFC heavyweight title bid from current UFC superstar (LowKick MMA)
• Sean Strickland points the way and bets on Josh Hokit's victory at UFC 334 (Ag. Fight (BR))
• Sean Strickland Predicts UFC 334 Main Event (Yahoo Sports MMA)
• Paddy Pimblett insists it’s ‘bad for the sport’ if Josh Hokit wins at UFC 334 (Bloody Elbow)
• Amanda Nunes disapproves of Norma Dumont's exit from UFC: “Very bad decision” (Ag. Fight (BR))
• Amanda Nunes calls Norma Dumont’s UFC exit a ‘bad decision’ (Sherdog)
• Debutant Samuel Sanches promises quick knockout at UFC 334: “My time has come” (Ag. Fight (BR))

Welcome to Open Scoring MMA, episode 147 for November 12th, 2026.

Today's show is brought to you by Dealophant, from the team behind Open Scoring MMA. Holiday shopping tip coming up in a minute. DUKE: Paddy Pimblett is not holding back on Ilia Topuria, and honestly, it's some of the funniest trash talk we've heard all year.
NORA: He went after the fanbase angle, not just the fighting.
DUKE: He did. Quote, "Is he Georgian, is he Spanish, is he German? You pick one, lad, you can't be all three. Stop trying to get a fanbase from three different countries," end quote.
NORA: That's cold.
DUKE: And he kept going, saying he's heard everyone in Spain has turned on Topuria already, that it got worse after the Gaethje loss.
NORA: Topuria's last fight was against Justin Gaethje, and Pimblett's clearly using that result as ammunition here.
DUKE: Right, and his point is brutal: quote, "It'll be heavy if I fight him and he loses again then, he won't have any fans left," end quote.
NORA: The Baddy doesn't miss when he's got a live target.
DUKE: He never does, this is Paddy at his best, needling a guy before there's even a bout agreement.
NORA: And fans on X are already fired up about this one, quoting that same Georgian, Spanish, German line back at him.
DUKE: As they should be, it's gold.
NORA: It also tells you Pimblett sees Topuria as his next big money fight, this isn't just a random jab.
DUKE: No chance. Alright, let's get into some fighter talk. Big one out of the Dvalishvili camp, actually.
NORA: Kevin Vallejos is making headlines with some very interesting comments regarding Aljamain Sterling.
DUKE: He wants to team up with Sterling, specifically offering to join forces to help Sterling's close friend and teammate Merab Dvalishvili.
NORA: That's definitely an unusual dynamic, reaching out to Sterling with an offer to work together for a bigger cause.
DUKE: Vallejos has talked about wanting to share the cage with Sterling down the line, but right now his focus is on showing solidarity with that whole camp.
NORA: And showing support for Merab after everything that went down overseas.
DUKE: Makes sense why, given what just happened to Merab.
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NORA: Merab Dvalishvili got jumped in Abu Dhabi.
DUKE: By Usman Nurmagomedov and a group of his guys, while Merab was literally doing an interview.
NORA: Dvalishvili said it himself, quote, "Was doing an interview for RAF in hotel lobby and Usman and his buddies came up from behind and started punching me and my young friend. Security was holding me, they kept kicking us when we were down like losers," end quote.
DUKE: That's not a scuffle, that's an ambush.
NORA: Multiple reports have Nurmagomedov slapping Dvalishvili first to spark the whole thing.
DUKE: Usman Nurmagomedov is the PFL lightweight champion, and right now one of the hottest free agents in combat sports.
NORA: Which makes this worse for him, not better. He's got leverage in free agency and he just turned himself into public enemy number one.
DUKE: Pros across the sport are calling it deplorable, and honestly, I don't blame them.
NORA: There's real history here too, Usman is Khabib Nurmagomedov's cousin, and Khabib and Conor McGregor had their own hotel and cage dust ups years back.
DUKE: UFC 334 is lighting up the timeline too.
NORA: Sean O'Malley came out swinging for Josh Hokit.
DUKE: Quote, "I want to see Josh Hokit win so bad," end quote, from O'Malley.
NORA: That's a real co-sign from a UFC superstar, not nothing.
DUKE: And Sean Strickland piled on too, posting his prediction on Instagram that Hokit gets it done.
NORA: Strickland's the middleweight champion, so when he backs an underdog publicly, people notice.
DUKE: Hokit is the challenger against Ciryl Gane this Saturday, November fourteenth, at Madison Square Garden, UFC 334, and that's Gane's first defense of the heavyweight title.
NORA: A massive step up in competition for Hokit regardless of who's rooting for him.
DUKE: Gane's striking and footwork at heavyweight are as clean as it gets, so Hokit having high profile fighters in his corner is creating huge buzz.
NORA: When you have guys like O'Malley and Strickland talking about your title shot on social media, the spotlight gets bright in a hurry.
DUKE: It really does, especially headlining Madison Square Garden on pay per view with gold on the line.
NORA: Styles make fights, and everyone is waiting to see if Hokit's wrestling can actually disrupt Gane's technical game on the feet.
DUKE: See, that's the fun of this main event, everybody's got a strong opinion and nobody quite knows how it plays out once the cage door locks.
NORA: That's why people tune in, heavyweight title fights at the Garden always bring that level of tension.
DUKE: Moving over, Amanda Nunes isn't happy about Norma Dumont walking away from the UFC.
NORA: Dumont still had two fights left on her contract and chose to exit anyway.
DUKE: Nunes called it, quote, "Very bad decision," end quote, and said Dumont should've fought the deal out.
NORA: Strong words from a Hall of Famer who knows better than anyone what it takes to build standing in the promotion.
DUKE: Nunes really feels like walking away before fulfilling the bouts on the contract limits your options down the road.
NORA: Absolutely, she believes finishing the deal is the proper way to handle your business and keep all your doors open.
DUKE: Let's look ahead.
NORA: On November twenty first, Jiří Procházka faces Navajo Stirling in the main event of UFC Fight Night.
DUKE: And we'll see where Kevin Vallejos and Aljamain Sterling go from here after all this talk about teaming up to support Merab.
NORA: Strange sport sometimes.
DUKE: Strangest sport. And hey, before we go, remember we've got breaking news alerts, fight breakdowns and videos on our own YouTube channel that you won't get here on the feed.
NORA: Worth checking out between episodes, especially with a week this chaotic.

One more thing before we go.

Josh Hokit's got O'Malley and Strickland in his corner against Ciryl Gane at UFC 334. Bold prediction or wishful thinking?

And while you're here, two quick ones. Our free Fight Tracker is at tracker dot open scoring m m a dot com, with every upcoming UFC and PFL card, live odds, and where to watch, all in one place. And follow us on YouTube, just search Open Scoring MMA, for breaking news alerts, fight breakdowns, and videos you won't get here on the feed.

That's it for today's Open Scoring MMA. Keep your hands up, and we'll see you next time.