Last Friday, the PFL had one of their biggest cards to date in their Road to Dubai event. In the main event, we saw a rematch for the lightweight title between Usman Nurmagomedov (20-0, 1 NC) and Paul Hughes (14-3).
These two fought for the Bellator title back in January where Nurmagomedov won an incredibly close decision. From there, Hughes smoked his next opponent in under a minute to setup the rematch for the inaugural PFL lightweight world championship.
Like the first fight, this one was incredibly close. Watching it live, I had it ever so slightly 48-47 for Nurmagomedov, but I wasn’t entirely sure. I haven’t watched it back, but perhaps I would change my opinion to 48-47 Hughes watching it a second time. No matter what, the fight was incredibly close.
However, two of the judges scorecards would make you think differently. One judge had it 50-45 and another had it 49-46 in favor of Nurmagomedov who won the unanimous decision. Again, I don’t mind Nurmagomedov winning because I personally had him winning, but there’s no chance in hell that he won all five rounds of that fight.
Instead of celebrating the new PFL lightweight champion, the moment felt soured and it felt like Hughes never had a chance had the fight gone the distance. These two men are on the same level and the two fights show that, but in the record books, Hughes is now 0-2 against the champion.
What’s next for the PFL’s Paul Hughes?
If you watch the ten rounds that Usman Nurmagomedov and Paul Hughes have fought in succession, you might say to yourself that it’s 5-5. One thing you’d probably say is crazy is the fact that one man won both of those fights given how incredibly close both fights were, but that is where we currently are with Nurmagomedov being 2-0 over Hughes.
Despite winning both fights, the closeness of those two matchups does leave room for a trilogy fight down the road and that’s something that I fully expect the PFL to explore. However, I don’t think it’s something that you’ll see anytime soon.
I think you’ll see Nurmagomedov have one or two more title defenses before a potential trilogy with Hughes and you’ll see Hughes fight a few more times as well. One thing that could also dictate whether a trilogy happens is their contracts.
While Hughes is all in with the PFL, Nurmagomedov has made it clear that he eventually wants to move to the UFC. Nurmagomedov stated originally that he wanted to jump ship after Islam Makhachev’s run is over. In January, he signed a new two-year deal with the PFL which means he will be with the promotion until the end of 2026.
It’ll be interesting to see if Hughes can get that trilogy fight before Nurmagomedov leaves the promotion. Nevertheless, Hughes is a massive European star for the PFL and I expect him to still get that kind of treatment. In terms of his next fight, I think there’s a few options out there for Hughes.
Nurmagomedov will likely defend his title against Alfie Davis next who won the Lightweight World Tournament. If the promotion wants to get Hughes to a trilogy quickly, they could have him face the undefeated Archie Colgan next who beat Jay Jay Wilson this past Friday.
To keep the team feud going, another option for Hughes could be last year’s PFL champion Gadzhi Rabadanov. Rabadanov ran through the competition in the world tournament before being upset by Davis. I could really see that being the next move for Hughes and perhaps the promotion puts that fight on in Ireland.
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