The PFL Champions Series 1 ceremonial weigh-in descended into chaos on Friday night. Usman Nurmagomedov and Paul Hughes are set to square off in the main event this evening in a much-anticipated lightweight title fight.
Watch Usman Nurmagomedov vs. Paul Hughes (Including All Events) Live Stream Online From Anywhere. No Cable or VPN Required. Onetime Payment, No hidden charge.
Click To: Nurmagomedov vs Hughes Live Anywhere Low Price
Click To: Usman Nurmagomedov vs. Paul Hughes Live Anywhere Low Price
Professional Fighters League (PFL) will stage its first event of 2025 TODAY (Sat., Jan. 25) inside Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, featuring a five-round Lightweight title fight between division ruler, Usman Nurmagomedov, taking on Paul Hughes. In the co-main event of the evening, Vadim Nemkov will face off against long-time veteran, Tim Johnson, in a Heavyweight showdown.
Many readers check in before, during and after the fights to share their thoughts on all of the action, which will begin at 11 a.m. ET streaming on Max, while European fans can see it on DAZN. Feel free to leave a comment (or several) about the bouts and chat with all the other Maniacs during the show — it’s always a lot of fun!
The matchup pairs together two of the most talented fighters on the PFL roster and has produced plenty of fodder and headlines in the build to the fight, largely due to Nurmagomedov's cousin and trainer, Khabib Nurmagomedov, using the fight to go public on his thoughts regarding a debate between Irish and Dagestan MMA, which traces back to Khabib's UFC rivalry with Conor McGregor.
The 26-year-od Nurmagomedov, who is also the younger brother of UFC bantamweight contender Umar, first captured the Bellator title in 2022 and has very much looked to fit in as far as lineage of great fighters once trained by his late uncle, Abdulmanap, which also includes current UFC lightweight champion and pound-for-pound king, Islam Makhachev.
Usman Nurmagomedov is a perfect 18-0 in his career and claimed the Bellator lightweight title in a lopsided decision win against Patricky "Pitbull" Freire in 2022.
Nurmagomedov has since officially defended the belt twice although he had another win overturned after testing positive for a banned substance found in a prescription drug. Since it was ruled unintentional the Dagestani fighter wasn't stripped of his belt and instead faced Alexander Shabliy last September, defeating him by unanimous decision.
Paul Hughes is 13-1 and is the former Cage Warriors featherweight champ. The 27-year-old made his promotional debut with a TKO victory against Bobby King last June and followed up on that with a split-decision win against former Bellator featherweight champ A.J. McKee in October.
Hughes is a well-rounded fighter with good boxing but he's been in competitive scraps against guys like McKee, Morgan Charrière, James Hendin, and Jordan Vucenic who look like lower tier UFC caliber talent. Meanwhile, Nurmagomedov has been dominant and seems a sure-bet to eventually become a UFC star once teammate Islam Makhachev moves up to welterweight.
Watch Usman Nurmagomedov vs. Paul Hughes (Including All Events) Live Stream Online From Anywhere. No Cable or VPN Required. Onetime Payment, No hidden charge.
Click To: Nurmagomedov vs Hughes Live Anywhere Low Price
Click To: Usman Nurmagomedov vs. Paul Hughes Live Anywhere Low Price
Professional Fighters League (PFL) will stage its first event of 2025 TODAY (Sat., Jan. 25) inside Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, featuring a five-round Lightweight title fight between division ruler, Usman Nurmagomedov, taking on Paul Hughes. In the co-main event of the evening, Vadim Nemkov will face off against long-time veteran, Tim Johnson, in a Heavyweight showdown.
Many readers check in before, during and after the fights to share their thoughts on all of the action, which will begin at 11 a.m. ET streaming on Max, while European fans can see it on DAZN. Feel free to leave a comment (or several) about the bouts and chat with all the other Maniacs during the show — it’s always a lot of fun!
The matchup pairs together two of the most talented fighters on the PFL roster and has produced plenty of fodder and headlines in the build to the fight, largely due to Nurmagomedov's cousin and trainer, Khabib Nurmagomedov, using the fight to go public on his thoughts regarding a debate between Irish and Dagestan MMA, which traces back to Khabib's UFC rivalry with Conor McGregor.
The 26-year-od Nurmagomedov, who is also the younger brother of UFC bantamweight contender Umar, first captured the Bellator title in 2022 and has very much looked to fit in as far as lineage of great fighters once trained by his late uncle, Abdulmanap, which also includes current UFC lightweight champion and pound-for-pound king, Islam Makhachev.
Usman Nurmagomedov is a perfect 18-0 in his career and claimed the Bellator lightweight title in a lopsided decision win against Patricky "Pitbull" Freire in 2022.
Nurmagomedov has since officially defended the belt twice although he had another win overturned after testing positive for a banned substance found in a prescription drug. Since it was ruled unintentional the Dagestani fighter wasn't stripped of his belt and instead faced Alexander Shabliy last September, defeating him by unanimous decision.
Paul Hughes is 13-1 and is the former Cage Warriors featherweight champ. The 27-year-old made his promotional debut with a TKO victory against Bobby King last June and followed up on that with a split-decision win against former Bellator featherweight champ A.J. McKee in October.
Hughes is a well-rounded fighter with good boxing but he's been in competitive scraps against guys like McKee, Morgan Charrière, James Hendin, and Jordan Vucenic who look like lower tier UFC caliber talent. Meanwhile, Nurmagomedov has been dominant and seems a sure-bet to eventually become a UFC star once teammate Islam Makhachev moves up to welterweight.