Paul Hughes is growing increasingly frustrated with what he sees as Usman Nurmagomedov constantly shifting the conditions for a potential rematch between them.
Earlier this year, in January, the two lightweights delivered a fight widely considered one of the best of the year. Nurmagomedov managed a narrow majority decision victory, but only after Hughes pushed the champion to the very edge of his first professional loss. The immediate aftermath saw widespread calls for a rematch, but Nurmagomedov reportedly insisted that Hughes first needed to secure another win. Hughes did exactly that.
In May, Hughes secured a spectacular knockout victory over veteran Bruno Miranda in just 42 seconds during a highly anticipated homecoming fight in Belfast. This dominant performance seemingly cemented his position as the top contender for the title. Instead of passively waiting for the PFL to announce the rematch, Hughes decided to take matters into his own hands and contact Nurmagomedov directly. He was not pleased with the response.
“I know for a fact now that this guy is trying to delay this rematch,” Hughes stated in an interview. “Because I went straight to him. I texted him myself last week and just asked what was going on? [Told him] Rematch now.”
Hughes revealed the reply: “He said once again `you have to win one more fight, brother.` So look, straight from the source right there, he`s trying to delay this.”
Following their initial fight, Hughes had shown respect towards Nurmagomedov and his corner team, which included UFC Hall of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov. Khabib himself reportedly spoke highly of the Irish lightweight`s effort and performance against his cousin.
While Hughes doesn`t regret that initial display of respect, he admits that the subsequent events – particularly Nurmagomedov`s insistence on another win before agreeing to the rematch – have significantly intensified his feelings about the situation.
“I was fed up. I`m fed up with all his nonsense,” Hughes declared. “I figured I might as well go straight to him. From what he said last week, he said `you`ve got to win one more fight, brother` and at the end of the day, he`s not the boss. This fight`s happening.”
Although Nurmagomedov may want him to fight again, Hughes is confident that his quick victory over Miranda was more than enough to earn the title shot. While he initially preferred the immediate rematch, the 28-year-old lightweight didn`t hesitate when the PFL offered him a different fight, especially one headlining a card at home in Ireland.
However, Hughes firmly believes that win should be sufficient to set up what many anticipate will be one of the most compelling rematches in PFL history, regardless of Nurmagomedov`s personal demands.
“The fight obviously has to happen,” Hughes asserted. “Everybody wants this fight to happen. PFL wants this fight to happen. Dubai wants this to happen. The only person that does not want this to happen, very, very clearly right now, is Usman Nurmagomedov.”
“If the fight does not happen, you know why,” he continued. “But I don`t believe that is the case. I think it will happen. I think the PFL and the Dubai government have more leverage than one man. So the fight must happen and it will happen in September or October this year.”
Shortly after publicly revealing his recent text exchange with Nurmagomedov, Hughes saw the PFL announce a fight between Mansour Barnaoui and Archie Colgan for June 20th, with the explicit statement that “the winner of this fight becomes the No. 1 contender for the PFL lightweight world title and will be next in line to face current champion Usman Nurmagomedov.”
It is understandable that this announcement did not sit well with Hughes.
“Hey, quit with the rage bait,” Hughes posted on Twitter in response.
Despite contradictory promotional announcements, Hughes remains confident that the PFL organization will ultimately ensure the rematch takes place and that Nurmagomedov`s apparent attempts to delay it will be unsuccessful.
“He`s trying to delay this fight. It`s that clear,” Hughes stated. “He probably shouldn`t have texted me back to be honest. He is going to delay this fight for a very clear reason. That is that he knows I`m going get him next time. He`s felt my energy in there. He knows I`m coming for him. He knows this is everything to me. I`m not sure if this is everything to him, to be completely honest with you, and his day is coming. As I said in the post-fight interview, he can try to delay this as long as he wants, but his day is coming.”
Hughes has long felt he deserved the victory in their initial bout against Nurmagomedov but accepted the judges` scores, which is why he didn`t object when the PFL scheduled him for another fight instead of an immediate rematch.
Now, however, Hughes can`t shake the suspicion that Nurmagomedov is simply attempting to postpone the inevitable outcome by creating new prerequisites before their next meeting.
“Listen, the guy`s in trouble,” Hughes concluded forcefully. “He`s in trouble when I get my hands on him. Let`s put it like that. I am in the gym every single day preparing for this. He has absolutely no idea what is coming for him.”
