Usman Nurmagomedov broke the heart of Irishman Paul Hughes with another contentious points win to retain his PFL lightweight world title on Friday in Dubai.
Eight months after Nurmagomedov was cast as a lucky winner at the same venue, the Russian was again a narrow victor in the rematch as Hughes produced a brilliant performance over five rounds.
The scorecards did not reflect a close battle as the judges saw it 50-45, 49-46 and 48-47 for Nurmagomedov.
“You want to say this fight was close too? I feel I won every round, but it was a very tough fight with tough opponent. I did not underestimate him, I think he underestimated me,” Nurmagomedov said.
Hughes, 28, fought expertly at close range and was a clear winner of rounds two and three, keeping his cool when Nurmagomedov headbutted him after the bell at the end of the first round.
The Irishman was hit with several low blows in round one and four which appeared to slow his progress and were rounds that Nurmagomedov pocketed.
But Hughes recovered each time and rocked Nurmagomedov on several occasions including with a superb kick and body shot combination in the third and a big right hand in the closing stages.
With Hughes mixing his striking, landing knees and short right-handed punches, UFC legend Khabib Nurmagomedov, the cousin of Usman, could be heard screaming at top volume for Usman to respond.
Khabib’s appeals appeared to fall on deaf ears as Usman elected to showboat during spells of the fight.
Merab Dvalishvili has effortlessly defeated Sean O’Malley in the main event of the Mixed Martial Art’s (MMA) Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) 316 night in New Jersey, United States (US), securing a third-round modified choke win in their rematch to retain the bantamweight championship.
With United States President Donald Trump watching from cageside on Saturday, Dvalishvili (win-loss record of 20-4 MMA) emphatically displayed his wrestling base to tire out the former champion and make an argument as one of the sport’s best bantamweights, perhaps of all time.
Dvalishvili, who won at 4:42 of the third round for his 13th consecutive victory, said he would welcome his next title defence against Cory Sandhagen (win-loss record of 18-5 in MMA), a winner of four of his last five fights.
“You’re the man, let’s go,” Dvalishvili said, indicating that he would be interested in fighting Sandhagen next.
O’Malley confirmed the loss is a minor setback, reassuring of a steady return. “100 percent, thank you guys for coming out,” he said.
The women’s bantamweight title changed hands in the co-main event, as Kayla Harrison submitted Julianna Pena with a second-round kimura.
Harrison and Pena embraced in the Octagon afterwards, showing utmost class for one another after Harrison controlled every aspect of the fight. Harrison said during her post-fight interview that her weight cut was so draining on Thursday night that she “wanted to quit”, but it would have been a mistake in her eyes, given that most fighters in MMA do not win a UFC title.
US President Donald Trump (R) and daughter Ivanka Trump attend a UFC 316 event, headlined by a rematch between Georgian mixed martial artist Merab Dvalishvili and US mixed martial artist Sean O’Malley, at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, June 14, 2025 [Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP]
Former UFC bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt fell short against Raoni Barcelos in a lacklustre affair by unanimous decision, 29-28, 29-28, 29-28.
In middleweight action, Mansur Abdul-Malik earned a technical decision over Cody Brundage 30-27, 29-28, 29-28. Abdul-Malik nearly had a third-round total knockout 36 seconds in, but an accidental clash of heads changed the direction of the fight, thus needing the judges to intervene.
Later, at UFC Fight Night in Atlanta, Kamaru Usman returned to winning ways as he defeated Joaquin Buckley 49-46, 49-46, 48-47 in a unanimous decision in the main event.
“Those knockouts will come,” Usman said after his win. “I just needed to get that monkey off my back.”
The first two rounds of the headline welterweight attraction saw Usman (win-loss record of 21-4 in MMA) pitch the equivalent of a shutout, effortlessly taking Buckley (win-loss record of 21-7 in MMA) down and utilising his ground-and-pound to outstrike the St Louis, US, native 16-0 in the significant strikes category.
Round 3 started strong for Buckley as he found his striking range before Usman achieved his third takedown in four attempts. Round 4 was primarily on the feet, as Buckley landed his best combinations of the fight but could not secure a comeback finish. Usman took Buckley down again, securing the back mount position as the round ended.
Round 5 saw both men trade blows, but it was too little, too late for Buckley, who had a six-fight unbeaten streak snapped. It was Usman’s first win since he held the title in November 2021.
Buckley was gracious in defeat, suffering his first loss at welterweight.
“We’re just getting started, baby,” Buckley said. “We’ll be back.”
Kamaru Usman (red gloves) fights Joaquin Buckley (blue gloves) during UFC Fight Night at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, US, June 14, 2025 [Brett Davis-Imagn Images via Reuters]
The co-main event also needed the cards, as former two-time strawweight champion Rose Namajunas earned a highly competitive unanimous decision, 30-27, 30-27, 29-28 over Miranda Maverick.
In middleweight, Edmen Shahbazyan nearly finished Andre Petroski with a would-be third-round total knockout before walking away with a unanimous decision, 30-27, 30-27, 29-28. The win marked Shahbazyan’s first stretch of back-to-back wins since 2019, his first decision win since 2018.
The UFC’s schedule goes international with a Fight Night instalment a week from Saturday in Azerbaijan, headlined by a light heavyweight non-championship five-rounder between former champion Jamahal Hill (12-3 MMA) and ex-title challenger Khalil Rountree Jr (14-6 MMA).
