Usman Nurmagomedov keeps Bellator lightweight title in thriller with Paul Hughes

Usman Nurmagomedov was dismissive of Paul Hughes' abilities before he put his Bellator lightweight title up against Hughes Saturday in the main event of a PFL Champions Series event at Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai.

After a vicious 25 minutes in the cage with the gritty Irishman, Nurmagomedov remained undefeated but was eager to admit how wrong he was.

"Honestly, I underestimated this guy," Nurmagomedov said after winning a majority decision by scores of 48-46 twice and 47-47. "It was my little mistake. But I'm still undefeated and I'm still undisputed."

Nurmagomedov and his coach/first cousin, former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, had said that Irish fighters couldn't compete with Dagestanis. Hughes somewhat dispelled that because of the difficulty Nurmagomedov had  getting him down. He ended up 4-for-9 in takedowns, but he had to fight hard for every one and on most of them, Hughes was up fairly quickly. Nurmagomedov (19-0) entered the bout with six submissions, though he never seriously threatened for one Saturday.

It turned into a kickboxing match that was on incredibly even terms. Nurmagomedov landed 128 of 171 total strikes compared to 120 of 177 for Hughes. The majority of Nurmagomedov's strikes were kicks, and he landed a whopping 68 of the 82 he threw. Three of the kicks, though, landed low and it cost him a point in the third round when referee Mike Beltran penalized him after the third low blow that came following a scramble.

Hughes was getting back up and spun around to face Nurmagomedov. As he squared, Nurmagomedov threw a kick that hit Hughes in the groin and sent him to the canvas writhing in pain. Beltran immediately deducted a point, and that had the potential to be a game-changer because all of the rounds were so close.

Hughes called for a rematch in Belfast, Northern Ireland, after saying he felt he'd won the fight.

"I'm so disappointed," a downcast Hughes said. "I really thought I won that one. I should have pushed harder. I know we're going to fight again."

Many fighters sided with him and felt he'd done enough to hand Nurmagomedov his first loss. Hughes made Nurmagomedov, who closed at DraftKings sportsbook as a -230 favorite, work harder than he ever had to in order to win. Hughes’ punches were sharp and accurate, and he connected on 75 of 118.

But he didn’t land those power shots he’s known for that hurt Nurmagomedov and he didn’t land a lot of really hard combinations.

So Nurmagomedov was able to stay in command most of the time and fend off Hughes. Nurmagomedov never had to worry about being taken down or submitted, so he was able to focus on neutralizing Hughes' ability to land a heavy shot that would temporarily incapacitate him.

He did it expertly but it clearly took a toll. He was spent when the fight was over and spent most of his post-fight interview paying homage to Hughes.

"Paul Hughes, you are the man, brother," Nurmagomedov said. "You are really the man. ... His wrestling defense, his takedown defense were very [good]. He's very strong. I really didn't think he'd be that strong, brother, but he was really strong."

It was an outstanding battle that calls for a rematch. 

If the sequel can come anywhere close to matching Saturday's epic battle, the PFL has a big one on its hands down the road.