Khabib Nurmagomedov has a very different opinion about Friday night’s massive PFL lightweight title rematch to his world champion cousin.
Usman Nurmagomedov infamously told reporters after his win in their January meeting that Paul Hughes would have to win as many as four or five more fights in order to earn a second shot at his belt. However, with just one 42-second KO of Bruno Miranda, the pair are running it back at the Coca-Cola Arena.
The feud between Hughes and Nurmagomedov borrows some minor themes from Khabib’s old rivalry with Conor McGregor. However, the two stories are so vastly different that they are almost incomparable, and the fight is considerably less ugly of a prospect as a result.
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Khabib Nurmagomedov brands Paul Hughes ‘new generation of MMA’ as he backs PFL title rematch
While Usman believes that other contenders should have been considered for his return to action, the wider MMA community seems to be in agreement that after a five round war he and Hughes must run it back. Even his own coach and cousin Khabib Nurmagomedov feels the same way.
“I think this is going to be a huge rematch,” the legendary former UFC champion said during an official promo video for the fight. “The first fight was a tough fight because of Paul Hughes. In my opinion Usman won 4-1 in rounds, but it did not look easy.
“This guy is a dog, Usman understands that you have to be ready for him because he’s going to keep coming. If you don’t finish him, he’s going to keep coming.
“Paul Hughes is the new generation of MMA and Usman is training very, very hard. Paul deserves this rematch because Usman gave him a very, very tough fight.”
Usman Nurmagomedov disagrees with famous cousin Khabib
Despite the high praise from an icon like Khabib, Usman Nurmagomedov feels that Hughes’ CV didn’t stack up to earn his title shot in the first place. And he certainly feels that after failing to capitalise on a point deduction first time around, he doesn’t deserve the rematch.
Speaking to media including Bloody Elbow ahead of the fight, Usman explained: “I think Khabib has his opinion and I have my opinion. Sometimes those opinions are not the same. In my opinion, he still does not deserve it.
“But who cares about this? No one, we’re going to fight Friday. Everything is good, training camp was good, Alhamdulillah so after a small hard day of cutting weight that’s it, we are going to fight, Inshallah.”