Usman Nurmagomedov vs Paul Hughes result: PFL Dubai grudge fight gets bloody as champion brought the distance

01/25/2025 04:18 PM

Usman Nurmagomedov admitted that he was given the fight of his life as he defeated Paul Hughes by Majority Decision to settle a bitter feud in Dubai.

For the final time, a Bellator world title was put on the line as Hughes challenged Nurmagomedov for his lightweight belt. An atmosphere fit for such an occasion overtook the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai, which was reported as sold out by PFL officials.

Nurmagomedov entered as a massive favorite with an all-star corner featuring Islam Makhachev and his cousin Khabib Nurmagomedov, who took part in the initial Dagestan v Ireland bout in 2018, in his corner. But Hughes promised big in the lead-up, vowing to unleash a star-making performance.

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Usman Nurmagomedov vs Paul Hughes result

A raucous home crowd for Nurmagomedov packed into the 17,000-capacity venue, but Hughes brought his own contingency of fighting Irish for the night. Tempers flared during the ceremonial weigh-in, and reports are that there may have been similar handbags in the upper levels of the arena on the night.

However, Usman Nurmagomedov and Paul Hughes both cut unbothered figures as they made their ways to the cage for the biggest fight of both of their careers. The pair were tentative early with the champion looking a bit more keen for action on the feet, before they shared a pair of low blows to get brief breaks.

The second round kicked off with Nurmagomedov on the ground as he went down to a body kick, before failing at his first effort to score a takedown. Hughes defended the takedown well throughout the sophomore stanza.

Usman is known as the best striker in the famed Nurmagomedov family, and showed it off in spades as round two came to an end landing big shots on the Irishman. However, Hughes remained in it, and on his feet, as they headed into the third, beginning to push the pace as the fight wore on.

Nurmagomedov had a point taken midway through the third or successive lowblows. However, immediately as the action resumed he landed a number of takedowns, which took all of the Irishman’s effort to recover from.

The pair ripped one another on the feet with big shots that could be heard from the top of the arena to close out the third, which could have gone either way, Heading into the championship rounds, the Irishman had a clear spring in his step, shaking off kicks from his rival.

About halfway through the fourth, a big right hand from Hughes looked to have Nurmagomedov hurt, and he followed it up with a kick down the middle on a takedown attempt. The fight was briefly stopped for a clash of heads, which despite Hughes coming off worse with a big cut, seemed to affect the champ.

Immediately once the fight restarted, Nurmagomedov shot in and landed another takdown, but struggled to do anything with the position. In fact, it was the Derry native who seemed to be scoring off his back as they went into the fifth.

As Hughes went for a risky combination to start the fifth, Nurmagomedov got him down again, taking his back and unloading knees. Ultimately the pair went the distance, with the champion just about doing enough in the eyes of two judges 48-46 as the other scored it a draw.

Dagestan dominates Ireland in undercard feud

Unfortunately for the Irish, there was no way Hughes could have clawed it back from defeat as the undercard Dagestan vs Ireland fights all went the way of Dagestan. While Cork’s John Mitchell did defeat Algerian Souhil Tairi, his countrymen didn’t fare so well on the night.

Kenny Mokhonoana was rag dolled for three rounds by the undefeated Ibragim Ibragimov in the second bout of the main card. He had missed weight in the build-up, and was forced to sacrifice his purse before losing on fight night.

Right after that, Nathan Kelly looked impressive early against Akhmed Magomedov. However, he struggled with the intense Russian style and succumbed to a submission in the second round to send Ireland down 2-0.

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