The Skilled Fighter’s League began their yr with a bang from the Coca-Cola area in Dubai on Saturday night as Dagestan’s Usman Nurmagomedov and Eire’s Paul Hughes produced a struggle for the ages within the last-ever Bellator light-weight championship struggle.
There aren’t many fights outdoors of the UFC that seize the eye of the general public on a worldwide scale, however the contest dubbed Dagestan vs Eire 2 was a kind of that did. Nurmagomedov retained his belt and prolonged his unbeaten streak to 19 -0 after the judges scored the struggle 47-47, 48-46, 48-46 in his favour.
The electrifying match-up has been labelled the very best PFL major occasion of their historical past, with calls from throughout the MMA world for a rematch in Hughes’ house metropolis of Belfast, Northern Eire.
It’s a savage consequence for Irishman Hughes, who had hoped to take his profession to the subsequent stage after an impressive win over AJ McKee in October. And whereas the 27-year-old did his fame no hurt in what’s simply the second defeat of his profession, it was finally Nurmagomedov’s night time.
“I underestimated this man. It was my little mistake, however I’m nonetheless undefeated,” stated a cousin of UFC legend Khabib. He added,d “Thanks a lot. The wrestling and takedown defence he did very effectively. He’s sturdy brother, you’re actually sturdy.”
A bloody Hughes stated put up struggle “We’re going to struggle once more, I actually respect Usman, I in all probability left some within the tank however I received’t subsequent time. I actually thought I used to be going to win tonight, I’m heartbroken. Now we have to do the rematch in Belfast, it needs to be in Belfast. I feel I’ve earned this. All the fellows in Dagestan, you may be welcome in Eire.”
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The Largest Combat Outdoors Of The UFC.
Earlier than the headline struggle, Hughes stated he was able to take Nurmagomedov to the “depths of hell” and claimed he was going to knock the champion out within the second spherical.
And whereas the bout finally didn’t play out that manner, a smiling and bloody Hughes brought about big issues for his unbeaten opponent in a extremely technical and thrilling major occasion that has seen the Irishman’s social media followers improve by 25% in a single day.
That simply reveals the magnitude of what this struggle was, just like Oktagon’s light-weight championship struggle final month between Losene Keita and Rony Paradeiser, the place the struggle had a a lot wider curiosity as a result of calibre and talent of the opponents, who in flip delivered on the most important stage with the world watching.
Rematch In Eire.
The combating metropolis of Belfast has witnessed some well-known nights in fight sports activities prior to now, with legends corresponding to Carl Frampton and Michael Conlan gathering a small nation collectively to create a singular and highly effective environment that’s unrivalled anyplace on the globe. There have been some large nights in Eire for Hughes up to now, however with the catapulted place he now finds himself in, what he can create with a dance companion like Usman has the potential to be legendary.
When ‘Massive Information’ arrived with the PFL final yr, he introduced with him an aura constructed on confidence and self-belief in his personal capability, backing it up with a captivating report on Cage Warriors, the place he held the featherweight championship belt and wins over two fighters now within the UFC; Jordan Vucenic and Morgan Charriere.
Hughes has now earned the appropriate to have the chance to run it again with Nurmagomedov in his personal metropolis, and the organisation will seemingly wish to ebook it instantly. They didn’t fiddle when it got here to pencilling Saturday night time struggle after Hughes known as for it after the win over former Bellator champion AJ McKee, and so they recognise that they’ve a world famous person within the younger Belfast man, so they may work as a collective to provide one other spectacular night time of blended martial arts.
Full Undercard Outcomes
W U. Nurmagomedov def Paul Hughes LMajority Dec
W Vadim Nemkov def Tim JohnsonLSub, 3:08 R1
W A. Magomedov def Nathan Kelly LSub, 4:22 R2
W I. Ibragimov def Okay. Mokhonoana LUnanimous Dec
W Renat Khavalov def C. Fernandes LUnanimous Dec
W Ahmed Sami def Tarek Suleiman LKO/TKO, 5:00 R1
W M. Akhtamov def Mike Thompson LSub, 2:50 R2
W H. Al Hussaini def Ruel Pañales LUnanimous Dec
W John Mitchell def Souhil Tairi LUnanimous Dec
