Just a week ago Umar Nurmagomedov fell short of beating Merab Dvalishvili at UFC 311 and last night his brother, Bellator champion Usman Nurmagomedov, also found himself in a tougher-than-expected battle to maintain his undefeated record against Paul Hughes at ‘PFL: Road To Dubai’.
There had been a major rivalry brewing between the two in the lead-up to the fight that was intensified when Nurmagomedov’s cousin, legendary UFC fighter Khabib Nurmagomedov dismissed any comparison between Dagestani and Irish fighters by claiming that Ireland had “no good fighters.”
The 27-year-old Hughes, who came into the fight with a 13-1 record, almost made him eat those words last night however as the underdog showed solid takedown defense early in the fight and gave as good as he got on the feet.
Things then got very interesting when repeated groin strikes from Nurmagomedov led to him being deducted a point in the third round, forcing a renewed sense of urgency from him to get the fight to the mat, but Hughes was still making effective use of his strikes when he could.
In the fourth round a clash of heads proved to be another major moment in the fight, with Usman appearing to come off the worst from it, requiring time to recover, while Hughes stood grinning despite blood leaking down his face.
However, when the action finally continued it was Nurmagomedov who took the initiative, finding more success in the wrestling department, though late in the final round the two fighters were back to battling on the feet to give the judges plenty to think about.
In the end it was Nurmagomedov who did enough to win in the eyes of two of the judges, while due to the earlier point deduction the other judge saw the fight as a draw, resulting in Usman only winning by majority decision (48-46 x2, 47-47).
Check out all the PFL results below.
Usman Nurmagomedov def. Paul Hughes via Majority Decision (48-46 x2, 47-47)
Vadim Nemkov def. Tim Johnson via submission (rear-naked choke) — 3:08, R1
Akhmed Magomedov def. Nathan Kelly via submission (rear-naked choke) — 4:22, R2
Ibragim Ibragimov def. Kenny Mokhonoana via unanimous decision (30-27 x3)
Renat Khavalov def. Cleiver Fernandes via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Ahmed Sami def. Tarek Suleiman via TKO (punches) — 5:00, R1
Mirafzal Akhtamov def. Mike Thompson via technical submission (arm-triangle choke) — 2:50, R2
Hadi Omar Al Hussaini def. Ruel Panales via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27)
John Mitchell def. Souhil Tairi via unanimous decision (30-27 x3)
Haider Khan def. Mostafa Nada via TKO (arm injury) — 3:18, R1
Talal Alqallaf def. Saeed Alhosani via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-27)
