Paul Hughes has teased that there is a new date for his rematch with Usman Nurmagomedov, on the same day he branded his rival a ‘duck’.
The Irish lightweight contender gave Nurmagomedov the toughest test of his career back in January in the final Bellator fight of all time. Since then, the PFL has been inundated with requests to make the rematch, but it has appeared that Nurmagomedov is looking in another direction.
Hughes has even fought since, knocking out Bruno Miranda within seconds in the main event of PFL Belfast. And it now seems as though he might have a date for the rematch months after their initial meeting.
Paul Hughes teases new date for Usman Nurmagomedov rematch
Last night, Paul Hughes made an appearance at cageside for the PFL’s debut in Belgium. He was shown on the broadcast during the event and channeled Tom Aspinall as he brandished a toy duck to goad Usman Nurmagomedov.
Hughes then shared a video to his Instagram page with the caption “October”, in which he can be seen again building towards a second fight. The video shows highlights of his defeat, before moving on to Hughes’ victory over Miranda.
Newly-signed bantamweight contender Caolan Loughran commented under the post with the same message. And while most commenters were excited by the idea, some joked that Hughes was ‘milking’ the feud in an effort to get a rematch.
PFL claim to have a new top contender for Usman Nurmagomedov’s belt
Unfortunately for Hughes, there is the small matter of one Archie Colgan, who last month seemed to earn a shot at Nurmagomedov’s world title. He defeated Mansour Barnaoui in Wichita in a number one contender fight, and has been advertised as the next contender.
The presumption is that Gadzhi Rabadanov, a teammate of Nurmagomedov’s, will win the PFL World Tournament this year at lightweight, which would line him up for a world title fight. However, he would never fight his teammate, which is why Colgan is needed as a top contender.
It seems as though the promotion are keen on Colgan being the next contender for the belt. But Hughes is far and away the fan favorite, and easily one of their biggest stars in terms of ticket sales and support, meaning they might be in for an awkward situation when booking the next fight.