Belfast's Paul Hughes went to war with Dagestan's Usman Nurmagomedov in a PFL fight in Dubai many are already dubbing 'The Fight of the Year'.
Hughes lost on a majority decision but enamoured himself to the world of mixed martial arts for his brave performance in defeat.
We NEED Paul Hughes in the UFC. pic.twitter.com/8tCqjGts4r
— TheFightVaults (@FightVaults) January 25, 2025
Paul Hughes is legit!!
— The Diamond (@DustinPoirier) January 25, 2025
The great Khabib Nurmagomedov was in his cousin's corner this evening.
In the build-up to the fight, Khabib had had some choice words for the Irish MMA scene in trying to drum up some publicity. Khabib effectively ended Conor McGregor's career as a sportsperson in a 2019 fight and he seemed to enjoy putting the boot to Ireland in an interview around Christmas.
“Brother, Ireland don’t have fighters, brother. Let’s be honest. How many fighters do you know from Ireland? Paul Hughes and Conor. And who else? There is no fighters, brother.
“You come Dagestan, you can understand. You know, so many organizations, they don’t even sign Dagestan fighters because they worry about like, everybody can become champion. Let’s be honest: Dagestan level of MMA here (raises arm high). But Ireland level, like not even half of Dagestan level.”
However after tonight's fight, Khabib took the microphone and had some generous praise for the Irish people because of Ireland's support of Palestine.
“I just want to say one thing, all these things began from my side and the other guy when we were fighting, but don’t forget – Ireland is the biggest supporter in the world for Palestine.
“Don’t forget about this, we love you guys… Inside the cage, it’s only competition, MMA is only respect, we love you guys because you support our brothers in Palestine. Thank you so much, Paul, thank you so much.”
After Usman defeated Paul Hughes tonight, Khabib took to the mic with some strong praise for Ireland
"Don't forget. Ireland is the biggest supporter in the world for Palestine. Don't forget about this. We love you guys. You, your government, everybody.pic.twitter.com/aW3BjhnYuF— Balls.ie (@ballsdotie) January 25, 2025
Dagestan is a majority Muslim nation, and it's clear from Khabib's words that Ireland's stance on Palestine has made news there.
Khabib praising the Fianna Fail/Fine Gael government - another thing we didn't expect to see in 2025.