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Brett Okamoto
The PFL has booked a lightweight championship rematch between Usman Nurmagomedov and Paul Hughes for Oct. 3 in Dubai.
The promotion announced the 155-pound title fight on Wednesday. A second fight between the two has been heavily anticipated since January, when Nurmagomedov (19-0) narrowly defeated Hughes (14-2) by majority decision. That first meeting also took place in Dubai.
Nurmagomedov, who is the cousin of retired MMA legend Khabib Nurmagomedov, looked dominant as a two-time defending Bellator MMA champion, but Hughes pushed him to the brink of defeat in the PFL’s inaugural lightweight title fight. Hughes said that he felt he won and called the judges’ scorecards “pretty ridiculous.”
The 28-year-old Hughes picked up a first-round knockout win over Bruno Miranda in May. Nurmagomedov has not fought since defeating Hughes.
Additionally, the PFL announced a light heavyweight fight between Corey Anderson and Dovlet Yagshimuradov for the Oct. 3 event.