UFC Veteran Says Fans Earn the Right to Heckle Fighters with Their Ticket Purchase After Merab Dvalishvili Incident

Chael Sonnen isn’t a big fan of Merab Dvalishvili getting into a fight with a fan who ‘crossed the line’ at UFC 310. According to Sonnen, the audience paid for their tickets, and so they hold the right to dislike what they see and call fighters out for it.

The drama unfolded as Dvalishvili was walking back to the locker rooms with teammate Aljamain Sterling. A fan grabbed Dvalishvili’s arm and hurled insults, sparking an altercation that quickly escalated.

Responding to this, Sonnen claimed that other than laying their hands on fighters, the crowd could do whatever it wanted.

“When the audience pays the ticket and they come in, the audience has the right to heckle you. They can’t touch you, but that’s all… I’m just sharing man, you can’t get your feelings hurt over it. It’s what the fan does, you go out there and do something he likes, he’ll cheer for you the next day…..You gotta let the guy get his energy out.”

The incident has sparked debate among fans and fighters alike, with some agreeing with Sonnen’s “heckle but don’t touch” stance and others calling for stricter security measures to prevent similar situations.

But as it turns out, the so-called fan wasn’t any ordinary fan. According to ‘The Machine‘, he is a part of team Nurmagomedov.

Dvalishvili claims to expose ‘fan’ for UFC 310 incident

Dvalishvili has taken to Twitter to set the record straight about the UFC 310 altercation, sharing a video that allegedly reveals the so-called “fan” who provoked him to be a close friend of Islam Makhachev and Khabib Nurmagomedov.

In the video, Dvalishvili explains that the incident wasn’t a random heckling gone wrong but a calculated move to provoke him.

“The Machine” pointed out that the media was quick to paint him as the bad guy, running headlines about him hitting a fan.

“More lies, disrespect, and deliberate provocations from Umar’s team.”

More lies, disrespect, and deliberate provocations from Umar’s team. Here’s the real story … pic.twitter.com/btwTzJrC0D

— Merab “The Machine” Dvalishvili (@MerabDvalishvil) December 8, 2024

Of course, at this point, these remain accusations at best. The bantamweight champion had already been on edge during the entire presser prior to UFC 310. In response to being paired up with Umar Nurmagomedov for the title fight at UFC 311, Merab had gone on a tirade claiming that the ‘Young Eagle’ had been disrespecting him as a man.

Merab gets absolutely angry when Umar says that no one cares about if the fighter deserves a title shot or not, gives Kai Asakura as an example. pic.twitter.com/GyxRVZcxp9

— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) December 6, 2024

So, whether this ‘fan interaction’ was a conceited effort to rile him up or it was just him still being angry over a title defense remains to be seen.