Usman Nurmagomedov: I was ’50 percent’ in Bellator title win over Paul Hughes

by February 7, 2025

written by February 7, 2025

Usman Nurmagomedov: I was ’50 percent’ in Bellator title win over Paul Hughes

2025 PFL Road to Dubai Champions Series: at Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai, UAE, Saturday, Saturday, January, 25, 2025. (Jose Peñuela / PFL)

Despite coming out on top, Usman Nurmagomedov wants fans to know that his full potential wasn’t displayed in his latest title defense.

Nurmagomedov (19-0) defended his Bellator lightweight title, a now defunct promotion under the PFL banner, against Irisman Paul Hughes (13-2) in the main event of PFL Road to Dubai Champions Series last month at Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai. Nurmagomedov won a close and competitive majority decision that read 47-47, 48-46 and 48-46 on the judges’ scorecards.

Even though he retained his belt and his unbeaten record, Nurmagomedov says he was only a fraction of himself in that cage.

“I think I can prepare for this fight better,” Nurmagomedov told MMA Junkie. “I know I can be better, more than I was that night. I for sure know I can finish this guy. After this fight, I see a lot of my mistakes. For myself, I know I was 50 percent in that cage. I will be ready for 100 percent, I know I can finish this guy.”

For him, training in Dagestan while the bulk of his team was in San Jose training at AKA was a big issue for his preparation. He also wasn’t 100 percent healthy entering the fight.

“For training camp I did it with tough guys, like one or two, but this is not enough,” Nurmagomedov said. “I was alone, and it’s really hard to push yourself when you don’t have your coaches. Everyone was focused on Umar (Nurmagomedov), Islam (Makhachev), Tagir (Ulanbekov) in America.

“Of course, they control me, but it’s different when you’re training at home with your family and your friends. Sometimes you have to spend time a little bit with your family and do some diner with your brothers. This made me a little tired and don’t get you recovered for next training session. Also, when I came to Dubai, I was sick two weeks before the fight.”

As far as what’s next, many online suggested an immediate rematch between Nurmagomedov and Hughes, given the entertaining and competitive nature of the fight. Some even claimed it as the best fight in PFL history.

However, for Nurmagomedov, the fight wasn’t as close as some people thought, and he wants to see Hughes prove his worth before running things back.

“If the people want, why not? If the fans want this fight, why not? Let him fight one time, and I’ll fight with him again, but he has to win,” Nurmagomedov explained. “He has to show me something. You can’t lose all fine rounds and say I was close to finishing him. It doesn’t work like that.”