Written by PFL will debut in the United Arab Emirates with a big lightweight headliner.
Bellator lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov (18-0) meets Paul Hughes (13-1) in the Road to Dubai: Champions Series main event Jan. 25 at Coca-Cola Arena, promotion officials announced Wednesday morning.
The matchup is being labeled Dagestan vs. Ireland 2 – a reference to Khabib Nurmagomedov’s historic rivalry with Conor McGregor. After coming up big as an underdog against A.J. McKee this past October at PFL: Battle of the Giants, Hughes invited McGregor to corner him for a potential fight with Nurmagomedov. Hughes has won his past seven in a row.
Nurmagomedov, 26, retained his lightweight title in a unanimous decision win against Alexander Shabliy in September. Prior to that, Nurmagomedov’s title-win over Brent Primus at Bellator 300 was overturned to a no contest by the California State Athletic Commission due to a failed drug test in October.