If Conor McGregor vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov was Ireland vs. Dagestan part one, Saturday’s entertaining five-round war between Usman Nurmagomedov…
If Conor McGregor vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov was Ireland vs. Dagestan part one, Saturday’s entertaining five-round war between Usman Nurmagomedov and Paul Hughes was the sequel.
PFL’s Road to Dubai event was headlined by an intense counter between Nurmagomedov, the reigning Bellator lightweight champion, and Hughes, a 13-win veteran fighting out of Belfast. Nurmagomedov went into the bout as a sizeable favorite to retain his title, but much to the delight of fight fans, Hughes gave the Russian everything he had for five rounds.
In the eyes of many, it was enough to dethrone Nurmagomedov and hand him his first career loss. Unfortunately, the judges didn’t agree. One official ruled the 25-minute affair a draw while the other two saw it in favor of Nurmagomedov, leaving the lightweight title around his waist and handing Hughes his second career loss.
Needless to say, McGregor, who has been an outspoken supporter of Hughes for years, was not happy with the decision and took the opportunity to once again shred the Nurmagomedov family on social media.
Tremendous fight and performance! Easy win for Hughes, he DOMINATED THAT FIGHT. And Umar exactly what it says on the tin, a Nurmagamedov. Runner, sprinter, bolter, scarper, scurrying “fighter”. The Nurmagomedovs are not fighters. They are the most non fighting fighters out of… https://t.co/oHzDcJ0mF0
“Tremendous fight and performance! Easy win for Hughes, he DOMINATED THAT FIGHT,” McGregor wrote on X. “And Umar exactly what it says on the tin, a Nurmagamedov. Runner, sprinter, bolter, scarper, scurrying “fighter”. The Nurmagomedovs are not fighters. They are the most non fighting fighters out of Dagestan and all time. Run away around the cage and shoot ass bitches.Dagestan is better than the Nurmagomedovs and that is a FACT!
Paul Hughes Echoes Conor McGregor’s statement
Hughes agreed with the former two-division UFC champion, calling the judge’s scorecards “ridiculous” after having a little time to process things.
“We all thought I won that one,” Hughes said post-fight on Instagram. “I think the judges’ scorecards were pretty ridiculous. But I’ll watch it back with a clear mind. I’m just judging from the energy of the arena and everyone surrounding the cage that thought it was mine. I’m not going to make excuses, though. I should’ve pushed harder. And I will the next time. I know we’ll fight again.”
Vadim Nemkov made quick work of Tim Johnson in the PFL Road to Dubai co-main event. Nemkov caught Johnson…
Vadim Nemkov made quick work of Tim Johnson in the PFL Road to Dubai co-main event.
Nemkov caught Johnson early with a glancing head kick that busted open the Minnesota native. Johnson attempted to respond with a big right hook, but that allowed Nemkov to change levels and put Johnson on the mat.
As Johnson muscled his way back up, Nemkov hopped on his back and locked in both hooks. Johnson posted himself on both arts, freeing up his neck for Nemkov to cinch in a rear-naked choke and force the tap out just past the three-minute mark of the opening round.
Official Result: Vadim Nemkov def. Tim Johnson via submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:08 or Round 1.
check out highlights from Vadim Nemkov vs. Tim Johnson at PFL Road to Dubai:
Chris Weidman is addressing the elephant in the room. Earlier this month, the ‘All American’ announced his retirement from…
Chris Weidman is addressing the elephant in the room.
Earlier this month, the ‘All American’ announced his retirement from mixed martial arts during the UFC 311 weigh-in show. Weidman was given ample time to make the announcement, bringing an end to a 13-year run inside the Octagon that saw him earn wins over Demian Maia, Anderson Silva, Lyoto Machida, and Kelvin Gastelum. Along the way, Weidman captured the middleweight championship and successfully defended it three times.
Eight days later, Weidman is officially coming out of retirement.
During Friday’s live Global Fight League draft, ‘All American’ was selected by Team New York as the seventh overall pick and is expected to take part in the promotion’s inaugural regular season when it kicks off in April.
During the live draft broadcast, Weidman offered some insight into his decision to cut his retirement short one week after announcing it.
“The elephant in the room is I just retired from UFC,” Weidman said. “A lot of people thought I was done fighting,” explained Weidman. “I didn’t know. I thought maybe I’m done fighting. I was kind of open to other opportunities outside of the UFC, but it had to be good. This is a league with a lot of guys I have a history with. You got Luke Rockhold, you got Gegard Mousasi, you got Uriah Hall.
“Rockhold was my first loss ever. That was a tough pill for me to swallow. We were supposed to rematch a bunch of times in UFC, but it never happened. So that would be a fight I’d love to have. It’s older dudes that I have a lot of history with. I love to compete and we make a whole lot of money. It’s not something I really feel like I can say no to. It’s really an exciting time for me.”
Chris Weidman joined by 19 other fighters on Team New York
Joining Weidman on Team New York will be former UFC light heavyweight contender Ovince Saint Preux, ‘Motown Phenom’ Kevin Lee, ex-bantamweight queen Holly Holm, BJJ specialist Dillon Danis, and former BKFC heavyweight champion Alan Belcher.
All six teams have been revealed for the Global Fight League’s inaugural season. On Friday, the promotion held its…
All six teams have been revealed for the Global Fight League’s inaugural season.
On Friday, the promotion held its first-ever live draft hosted by former UFC play-by-play man Mike Goldberg and a host of others. The No. 1 pick of the evening saw Team Dubai select former UFC welterweight titleholder Tyron Woodley who has not competed in a mixed martial arts bout in nearly four years.
Team Los Angeles selected former UFC and ONE Championship standout ‘Super’ Sage Northcutt as its first pick, followed by Team London who took ex-Bellator middleweight champ Gegard Mousasi. Former UFC heavyweight titleholders Junior dos Santos and Fabricio Werdum were selected by Team Miami and Team Sao Paulo respectively while Team New York closed the opening round by selecting ‘Motown Phenom’ Kevin Lee.
Paige VanZant, Holly Holm, and Cat Zingano among the woman featured in Global Fight league draft
Aspen Ladd was the first female fighter selected, taken by Team Los Angeles in the second round of the draft. She was followed by Josefine Knutsson and Holly Holm who were taken as the 15th and 18th overall picks. UFC fighter turned BKFC brawler Paige VanZant and Cat Zingano were both selected by Team Miami in the later rounds.
Also selected were a slew of prospects, including atomweight standout Kayla Hracho who went a combined 5-2 during her runs under the Combate Global and iKON Fighting Federation banners.
Former flyweight champion and the winningest woman in Bellator MMA history, Ilima-Lei Macfarlane was also taken in the GFL draft. She was selected by Team Los Angeles, joining Cynthia Calvillo, Jessica Penne, and Cory McKenna.
‘El Cucuy’ picked up by team los angeles
Hours after being declared for the GFL draft, former interim UFC lightweight champion Tony Ferguson was selected by Team Los Angeles. El Cucuy‘ closed out his 13-year-long run with the Ultimate Fighting Championship following a record-breaking eighth straight loss inside the Octagon against Michael Chiesa at a Fight Night event in August. Ferguson has not won a fight since a June 2019 TKO stoppage against Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone.
Check out the rosters for all six global fight league teams below:
All six teams have been revealed for the Global Fight League’s inaugural season. On Friday, the promotion held its…
All six teams have been revealed for the Global Fight League’s inaugural season.
On Friday, the promotion held its first-ever live draft hosted by former UFC play-by-play man Mike Goldberg and a host of others. The No. 1 pick of the evening saw Team Dubai select former UFC welterweight titleholder Tyron Woodley who has not competed in a mixed martial arts bout in nearly four years.
Team Los Angeles selected former UFC and ONE Championship standout ‘Super’ Sage Northcutt as its first pick, followed by Team London who took ex-Bellator middleweight champ Gegard Mousasi. Former UFC heavyweight titleholders Junior dos Santos and Fabricio Werdum were selected by Team Miami and Team Sao Paulo respectively while Team New York closed the opening round by selecting ‘Motown Phenom’ Kevin Lee.
Paige VanZant, Holly Holm, and Cat Zingano among the woman featured in Global Fight league draft
Aspen Ladd was the first female fighter selected, taken by Team Los Angeles in the second round of the draft. She was followed by Josefine Knutsson and Holly Holm who were taken as the 15th and 18th overall picks. UFC fighter turned BKFC brawler Paige VanZant and Cat Zingano were both selected by Team Miami in the later rounds.
Also selected were a slew of prospects, including atomweight standout Kayla Hracho who went a combined 5-2 during her runs under the Combate Global and iKON Fighting Federation banners.
Former flyweight champion and the winningest woman in Bellator MMA history, Ilima-Lei Macfarlane was also taken in the GFL draft. She was selected by Team Los Angeles, joining Cynthia Calvillo, Jessica Penne, and Cory McKenna.
‘El Cucuy’ picked up by team los angeles
Hours after being declared for the GFL draft, former interim UFC lightweight champion Tony Ferguson was selected by Team Los Angeles. El Cucuy‘ closed out his 13-year-long run with the Ultimate Fighting Championship following a record-breaking eighth straight loss inside the Octagon against Michael Chiesa at a Fight Night event in August. Ferguson has not won a fight since a June 2019 TKO stoppage against Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone.
Check out the rosters for all six global fight league teams below:
Things did not go as planned for PFL standout Mostafa Abada Rashed Neda in Dubai. In just the second…
Things did not go as planned for PFL standout Mostafa Abada Rashed Neda in Dubai.
In just the second bout of the promotion’s Road to Dubai card on Saturday, the Saudi fighter suffered a brutal injury when his opponent, Haider Khan, unleashed a front kick that ended things in a flash. Neda attempted to block the kick with his forearm but immediately paid the price when his forearm literally snapped in half, forcing him to put the arm back in place while retreating from his opponent.
Fortunately, the referee and Khan recognized the injury immediately and the bout was promptly stopped at the 3:18 mark of the opening round.
The victory moved Haider Khan to 9-1 in his mixed martial arts career with five of his wins coming inside the distance. Neda fell to 9-4 overall and saw his five-fight win streak snapped with the loss to Khan. Neda has been finished in all four of his losses.
Vadim Nemkov made quick work of Tim Johnson in the PFL Road to Dubai co-main event. Nemkov caught Johnson…
MAX
DAZN
OKKO 
Chris Weidman is addressing the elephant in the room. Earlier this month, the ‘All American’ announced his retirement from…
All six teams have been revealed for the Global Fight League’s inaugural season. On Friday, the promotion held its…
Things did not go as planned for PFL standout Mostafa Abada Rashed Neda in Dubai. In just the second…