After falling just short at PFL Road to Dubai, what’s next for Paul Hughes?

The PFL had their Road to Dubai event this past weekend and there was an absolute banger in the main event. A title fight that could be on the short list for Fight of the Year as Bellator lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov (19-0, 1 NC) took on Ireland’s Paul Hughes (13-2).

Entering the bout, there was a lot of hype surrounding Paul Hughes, but the big question was around whether or not he was ready for the challenge in front of him. He came into the promotion with a ton of hype that hype was legitimized when he defeated AJ McKee last year to earn this title shot. That said, this was a much bigger challenger in the form of the Bellator lightweight champ.

From the opening bell, it was clear that this was going to be a fight. I gave the first round to Nurmagomedov and then the second round was up in the air for me. I personally leaned Hughes. I gave the third to Nurmagomedov but there was that point deduction which led me to have it 9-9.

I split the final two rounds and on my scorecard, I had it 47-47. Nurmagomedov would’ve won the fight on my card had he not had that point taken away. One judge saw it that way, but two saw it 48-46 for Nurmagomedov who retained his title at PFL Road to Dubai.

What’s next after PFL Road to Dubai?

This was an incredible performance from Paul Hughes and I don’t think he should hang his head at all. He was visibly heartbroken after the fight because he thought he did enough to win the fight. The rounds were so close that I could see why he believed that. Many pundits online seemingly scored the fight for Hughes as well. As mentioned, I had it a draw but I don’t have a problem with either man winning.

The big question now is whether or not the PFL will run this one back right away? It feels obvious that they would, but I’m not sure they should rush it. Nurmagomedov and Hughes are their two biggest stars at lightweight and I think they could build this throughout the year with both men getting one more fight before the rematch.

Personally, I would let Usman Nurmagomedov fight the 2024 PFL champ Gadzhi Rabadanov next. Sure, it’s not the sexiest fight in the world but it would unify a true PFL lightweight champion with Bellator going away and Rabadanov being the 2024 season champion.

On the same card, you could have Hughes fight another top contender. Say someone like Alexander Shabliy who is coming off a loss to Nurmagomedov. You’re rolling the dice hoping both men would win, but I also think it’s rolling the dice having your two biggest stars in the division face each other twice in such a short amount of time. It’ll be interesting to see what happens.

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