Usman Nurmagomedov ekes out decision over Paul Hughes in classic battle at PFL Dubai

Usman Nurmagomedov remains undefeated, but just by the skin of his teeth.

On Saturday, Nurmagomedov defended his lightweight title against Paul Hughes in the main event of PFL Dubai. After five hard-fought rounds, Nurmagomedov took home a majority decision victory.

In the build-up to the fight, much was made from Nurmagomedov about how he didn’t really know much about Hughes and how Hughes didn’t deserve this fight. The Irish star made Nurmagomedov eat those words, defending takedowns with ease and punishing Nurmagomedov with shots to the body. In return, Nurmagomedov chewed away at the body and legs of Hughes with a near-endless supply of kicks.

After a competitive opening two rounds, things took a bad turn for Nurmagomedov when he received a point deduction in the third round for repeated low blows. In a desperate spot, Nurmagomedov finally started to find success with his wrestling but Hughes continued to elevate his own game in response.

Things took an even more dramatic turn in the fourth round when an inadvertent clash of heads put Nurmagomedov in some serious pain and opened up a cut on Hughes’s forehead. This led to an incredible moment of Hughes covered in his own blood, looking at the hurt Nurmagomedov like a lion waiting to pounce.

Once things restarted, Nurmagomedov managed to compose himself and quickly score a takedown to ride out the round. The fifth round was just as dramatic though with Nurmagomedov landing an early takedown, but Hughes roaring back down the stretch, with both men slugging it out to end the best fight of 2025 thus far.

In the end, Nurmagomedov remained undefeated, winning a majority decision with scores of 47-47, 48-46, and 48-46 on the judges scorecards.

After the bout, both men were extremely complimentary of each other, with Nurmagomedov even acknowledging that he underestimated Hughes, saying that Hughes made him a better fighter tonight.

Check out the full PFL Dubai results.

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