Paul Hughes doubled down on his hopes to have Conor McGregor corner him for a future clash with Bellator lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov, a bout the Irish up-and-comer labeled “Dagestan vs. Ireland 2” as an ode to McGregor’s infamous 2018 clash with Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Momentum for the matchup has grown beyond Hughes’ callout of the Bellator champion following his breakout victory over AJ McKee at PFL: Battle of the Giants. However, with Hughes expected to debut in the PFL’s lightweight tournament next year, his hopes of a title tussle with Usman Nurmagomedov will give the promotion’s brass food for thought. Ever the company man, Hughes claims he would happily do both.
“I definitely wouldn’t rule either of them out — I mean, I definitely wouldn’t rule the [PFL 2025] season out as well,” Hughes said on Monday’s episode of “The Ariel Helwani Show.” “It would be fantastic to go and get a Bellator belt and then get a PFL belt. That would be quite something.”
Even before his June debut with Bellator, Hughes had the champion Nurmagomedov fixed in his crosshairs and believes their fight could be one of the biggest matchups available to both Bellator and PFL.
“I’ve wanted to fight him for some time. I always knew when I was coming into this organization, that would be a huge fight and he was the champion. To me, it’s completely a no-brainer. To do that fight in Dubai or Belfast, that’s one of the biggest fights PFL and Bellator can do,” he said.
“You can already see the traction it’s doing online, it’s going to be huge fight.”
While many fighters in Hughes’ position would be forced to choose between the Bellator title shot or the PFL tournament, on the back of his win over the highly rated McKee, Hughes believes his stock has grown to a level that he can ask for both.
“I think I’m in an alright position after that fight with AJ, I could do both,” he said. “If I could, maybe I would do both. It depends on what PFL and Bellator want to do with me, of course, but the Usman fight is massive. At the end of the day, who in their right mind doesn’t want to make that fight right now after what happened on Saturday night? After what’s happening on social media? I guess we’ll just have to see.
“I’m here for the big fights, I’m here for the high pressure. I’m here to put on entertaining fights, which I hope I did on Saturday, and I’m here to make money, so we’ll what happens,” he added.
Based on their social media activity, it seems the Nurmagomedovs are open to the idea too.
On Monday, Usman posted a picture alongside coaches Javier Mendez and Khabib Nurmagomedov with the caption, “Big news coming soon,” a nod to Hughes’ nickname.
As for McGregor’s involvement, in an insult-laden, since-deleted reply to Hughes’ request to corner him against the Nurmagomedovs, the former UFC two-division champion insisted that he would be on the scene to support the Derry man, but told him to stick with the Fight Academy Ireland corner team that got him to this point.
McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov shared one of the most explosive rivalries MMA has ever seen in the lead-up to their grudge match at UFC 229, which remains the highest-selling pay-per-view in the sport’s history. Following Khabib’s submission win at the event, he vaulted over the cage and ignited a wild melee with members of McGregor’s team. The two sides have remained viciously at odds ever since.
Hughes said that if “The Notorious” is on the scene for a fight between him and undefeated champ Usman Nurmagomedov, an army of extra security would be needed to keep the two teams separated.
“Could you imagine it? It would be incredible. You would need 200 security guards on that, 100%,” Hughes quipped. “Could you imagine Dagestan vs. Ireland 2? That’s a great fight as well. It’s not just because it’s Ireland versus Dagestan and you’ve got the whole history, it’s a damn good fight too.”
As for his back and forth with McGregor, Hughes is thrilled to have a good relationship with the man who inspired him to pursue fighting.
“He’s the greatest to ever do it; he always will be my fellow countryman,” he said. “It always feels great when these interactions happen, because of course he was such an inspiration for me to continue in this game and reach new heights. So, yeah, if we could get him in the corner, that would be incredible.”
