Title win can bring big nights to Belfast – Hughes

In their third rematch on October 3, Paul Hughes believes a victory over PFL lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov could lead to a significant home fight.

Lewis Crocker won his rematch against Paddy Donovan in front of 20, 000 spectators at Windsor Park last weekend, and Hughes wants to “create these big nights” in Dubai.

Nurmagomedov fought off a majority decision in what was regarded as a contender for the fight of the year in the first fight between the pair in January, holding onto his then-Bellator title and flawless professional record.

In 42 seconds, Hughes stopped Bruno Miranda before the match’s doors opened, topping the bill at a packed SSE Arena in Belfast.

The 28-year-old from Lavey said, “It means the world is carrying the torch for Irish MMA, and it’s something I don’t take lightly.”

“I want to organize these big nights, not just for myself, but also for my teammates and fellow countrymen, to promote big-time MMA in Ireland,” said the player. I believe that Belfast could accommodate 23, 000 people without a doubt.

Former boxer Carl Frampton’s career included numerous hefty fight nights in Belfast, and now Hughes sees the two-weight champion as an inspiration in MMA.

He continued, “I really admire Carl.”

He must first overcome the significant challenge that Nurmagomedov has posed.

The 27-year-old, younger brother of Umar and cousin of former UFC lightweight champion Khabib, said he “underestimated” Hughes in their first fight but doesn’t intend to repeat that error.

“This time, everything is different. The defending champion criticized the defending champion for “imagining how I can lose this fight.”

“I had a bad camp during the first fight. He will need to be prepared because this is a different Usman from January.

He will be different, I am aware of that. This fight (its first) fought back ten times. We have worked on them, and I see many of my mistakes. I’ll be better in this fight.

Hughes also anticipates a much better Usman this time around, and despite his initial shock at the prospect of a lot of change, he is aware of this.

After suffering his first career defeat to the Englishman two years prior, he now feels more confident in winning a rematch by defeating Jordan Vucenic to claim the Cage Warriors featherweight title.

I’ve had him for five rounds, and I can take what I can from that and put it into practice, Hughes said.

I’m not under any illusion that he and I will have a different and better gameplan this time around, so I’m curious to see how that will play out in the evening and who will do better.