By Will Castle
Copyright independent
Paul Hughes will lock horns with undefeated PFL lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov in one of MMA’s most anticipated rematches on Friday.
The pair put on an early fight-of-the-year contender back in January, with Nurmagomedov – the cousin of former UFC lightweight champion Khabib – narrowly edging “Big News” by majority decision, despite being docked a point for an accidental headbutt.
Northern Ireland sensation Hughes is now out for revenge as he returns to Dubai for the biggest fight of his career so far, harbouring dreams of bringing the gold back to Belfast for a mammoth title fight at Windsor Park.
The co-main event pits former Bellator champion Corey Anderson against Dovlet Yagshimuradov for the PFL light-heavyweight belt, while the undercard was due to feature Artem Lobov – Conor McGregor’s former training partner – fight in MMA for the first time in seven years, but a cut has ruled him out.
Here’s everything you need to know:
Hughes vs Nurmagomedov 2 will take place on Friday 3 October at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The main card will begin at 4:30pm BST (11:30am ET, 10:30am CT, 8:30am PT), with main-event ring walks expected at 6pm BST (1pm ET, 12pm CT, 10am PT).
Viewers can stream the fight live on DAZN, with the card available to watch for subscribers. Purchase a subscription to DAZN here, with plans starting at £14.99 a month.
Paul Hughes 5/4
Usman Nurmagomedov 8/13
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Subject to change; ‘C’ denotes champion
Usman Nurmagomedov (C) vs Paul Hughes (lightweight title)
Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov (C) vs Corey Anderson (light-heavyweight title)
Magomed Magomedov vs Sergio Pettis (bantamweight)
Archie Colgan vs Jay-Jay Wilson (catchweight)
Jack Cartwright vs Caolan Loughran (catchweight)
Pouya Rahmani vs Slim Trabelsi (heavyweight)
Omar El Dafrawy vs Florim Zendeli (welterweight)
Takeshi Izumi vs Vinicius Cenci (lightweight)
Abael Adjoudj vs Mirafzal Akhtamov (lightweight)
Makkasharip Zaynukov vs John Mitchell (lightweight)
Jarrah Al-Selawe vs Gregory Babene (middleweight)
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