‘Doesn’t Work Like That’: Usman Nurmagomedov Refuses Paul Hughes Rematch, Says Earn Wtih ‘One More Win’

Following his majority decision loss against Usman Nurmagomedov for the Bellator lightweight title last month, Paul Hughes had called for an immediate rematch in Ireland. However, Usman had remained skeptical, claiming that the Irishman needed to fight as many as 4 times first. Despite the sustained public demand since then, Usman now outright refuses to entertain a rematch. However, his conditions have softened. 

It should be noted a huge chunk of the people who watched the fight also believe Hughes should have won on the night. The Derry fighter put the performance of his career and took Usman to the deep end. Had it not been for the referee-induced separation after their head collision, the momentum seemed firmly in the Irishman’s favor. However, Usman maintains that Hughes’ performance wasn’t good enough to warrant an immediate rematch.

In a conversation with Mike Bohn, the Bellator champ declared that he was happy to fight Hughes as long as the Irishman could prove himself again. Stressing that Hughes was in no position to make demands, he added, 

“Anyways, I am so happy to win and we can do it again, why not. If he will win one fight, we can do it again. Just win one fight, call my name. He has to show me something. You can’t lose all five rounds and say, ‘I was close to finishing him.’ It doesn’t work like that.”

This staunch stance from Usman comes as a bit of a surprise since the fight didn’t exactly go as he claims. The fight might have been scored (47-47, 48-46, 48-46), but it was ridiculously close.

Hughes vs Usman: A Recap

Usman stepped on the gas from the very first round with some sharp kicks to try and push Hughes on the defensive but was instead faced with quick counters. Hughes almost managed to put the champion on his back with his signature left hook. The round ended with both fighters having points deducted for hitting each other with low blows.

Usman started the second round strongly as well but this time around, he seemed far more cautious of his strike-first approach and instead went for repeated takedowns. The Irishman defended them well and responded with some clean strikes to force Usman back to an ‘on the feet approach’. Unfortunately, Usman responded to the challenge in kind and landed some vicious combinations.

Do note, that Usman has been kicking the bejesus out of Hughes’ legs all this time. It didn’t seem to affect the Irishman as much for the first two rounds but by the third, the swelling had started to restrict his movements.

Despite this, he continued to march forward and tried to force Usman on the backfoot with some aggressive pressing and strikes. The round ended with another low blow from Usman, resulting in a point deduction again.

The fourth round saw similar back and forth between the fighters. But while Usman went deep into his game plan and was strategic with his movements, Hughes pushed through with sheer grit and talent, landing shots to the champion’s body at will.

By this time, it was clear that this was going to be a fight to be remembered for a long time. The final round saw both fighters being exhausted and pushed to the deep end. Despite running on fumes, Usman and Hughes kept swinging at each other, until the final bell rang and the referee stopped the fight.

Now, Usman might not be wrong is saying that Hughes had lost all 5 rounds. But that doesn’t mean it was a one-sided fight. The fight is seen as a 25-minute event instead of 5 minutes of 5 rounds, there’s a good chance that the Irishman had pulled off a major upset.

So, with that in mind, do you think Hughes should be granted an immediate rematch against Usman, especially in his own backyard?