Max Headroom 
Usman Nurmagomedov knows who Paul Hughes is now.
On Saturday, Nurmagomedov faced Hughes in the main event of PFL Dubai, eking out a majority decision win after a five-round war. This came after a promotional buildup where Nurmagomedov repeatedly dismissed Hughes as a challenger, saying he didn’t deserve the fight and that he didn’t really know much about Hughes. Well, Nurmagomedov knows plenty now.
In his post-fight speech after their Fight of the Year contender, Nurmagomedov acknowledged just how good Hughes is.
“Paul Hughes, brother, you are the man, brother,” Nurmagomedov said. “You’re really the man. Brother, you are tough. Honestly, I underestimated this guy. Whew. It was my little mistake, but still undefeated, undisputed, Bellator lightweight champion, Usman Nurmagomedov.”
Undefeated and the Bellator lightweight champion, Nurmagomedov was a heavy favorite heading into this matchup, but struggled early with the very game Hughes. Hughes defended takedowns and punished Nurmagomedov’s body with punches, turning the bout into a dogfight at times. Nurmagomedov was ultimately able to persevere, even overcoming a point deduction for repeated low blows in the third round, but says that Hughes brought out a different level from him in this bout.
“His wrestling defense, takedown defense [went] very well,” Nurmagomedov said. “He’s tough, he’s strong. I didn’t think he would be this strong, brother. Brother, you are really strong [laughs]. You tell me in the face to face, this was my mistake, you were right, brother. Thank you so much.
“I never take this damage, what I take with him in this fight. I have a lot of pain on my body. Brother, thank you for this fight. I think I jumped to next level because of him. He make me better than I was today. And I think, for sure, he got better, too. Thank you so much, Paul. I really respect you brother.”
The win moved Nurmagomedov to 19-0, 1 No-Contest in his professional career.
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