10,000 fans watch PFL Dubai as Usman Nurmagomedov beats Paul Hughes

Usman Nurmagomedov remained undefeated, but it took him going into an extra gear to get it done against he irishman Paul Hughes.  The fight which played out in front of a sold out crowd in Dubai UAE witnessed a back and forth fight as the Dagestan Usman Nurmagomedov mixed his wresting with his striking to win a close decision.  After 5 rounds the score cards read 48-46 x2 and 47-47 which included a point deduction in the thrid round.

The fight will mark the end of the Bellator MMA Lightweight division as the company is now officially part of the PFL which purchased Bellator MMA last year from Paramount.  With the loss Paul Hughes falls to 13-2  as a pro while usman moved to 19-0.  The full road to dubai championship series featured 11 professional fights.

While the main card was deemed Dagestan X Ireland, there wasn’t much of a competition as the Dagestan side won 5-0 with all of their matchups. full winners on the night included Vadim Nemkov, Akhmed Magomedov, Ibragim Ibragimov, Renat Khavalov, Ahmed Sami, Mirafzal Akhtamov, Hadi Omar Al Hussaini, John Mitchell, Haider Khan, and Tala Al Qallaf.