Merab got into ANOTHER altercation with a
fan after Aljamain Sterling lost to Mosvar Evloev. 👀
#UFC310 pic.twitter.com/MBeKMmvQkZ— InsideFighting (@InsideFighting_)
December 8, 2024
Dennis
Buzukja could face sanctions for scuffling with someone in the
crowd at UFC
310.
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During a meeting on Tuesday, the Nevada State Athletic Commission
temporarily suspended the four-time UFC veteran for throwing
punches at a man on his way back to the locker room after cornering
Aljamain
Sterling on Dec. 7 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
UFC bantamweight champion Merab
Dvalishvili was also seen being restrained during the
altercation.
Dvalishvili later posted evidence that the fan had ties to Umar
Nurmagomedov and his team, and he
claimed that the incident was orchestrated by his UFC 311
opponent. The fan involved was later identified as Arman
Tugaev. Dvalishvili would go on to retain his bantamweight title
with a unanimous decision victory over Nurmagomedov on Jan. 18.
Regardless of whether or not Dvalishvili’s allegations are true,
Buzukja could face a fine and further suspension at a future NSAC
meeting. According to Buzukja, the Dvalishvili and Tugaev had an
exchange on the way to the Octagon, but things escalated when they
were walking back to the locker room following Sterling’s loss to
Movsar
Evloev.
“Then as the fight finished and we’re walking back on the other
side, this f—king guy comes across the whole crowd and then goes
and, you’ve seen the video, he grabs Merab’s arm and then says
something to him in, I guess Russian or whatever, and Merab started
going crazy. Then we got into a little physical altercation, but
that was really it. So hopefully no charges pressed and we move
on,” Buzukja said during an appearance on The
Weekly Scraps podcast (transcription via MMAjunkie.com).
“….“I went and approached him, and I just put his hand down,”
Buzujka said. “I was trying to deescalate and tell him, ‘Yo, calm
down, bro. Relax.’ Merab was going away. I just wanted to tell him
to relax, have some respect. Then he cracked me first. Actually he
cracked me with a nice little left hook, and then it was just
instinct to hit him back. Then security came in, but part of me is
like, ‘Should I just drop the bucket and just jump over and start
swinging?’ Just go full f—ing degenerate, but I’m glad it didn’t
happen that way.”
Buzukja is 1-3 in UFC competition since making his promotional
debut in August 2023. His most recent appearance came at UFC on
ESPN 62, where he dropped a split decision against Francis
Marshall last August.