PFL star Paul Hughes is excited for Khabib Nurmagomedov to have a cageside view to his recent claim about Ireland being proved emphatically wrong later this month.
Khabib, a former UFC lightweight champion, has put considerable time into coaching since ending his career as a 29-0 professional. And after cornering Islam Makhachev and Umar Nurmagomedov in Los Angeles on Jan. 18, “The Eagle” will head to Dubai for Usman Nurmagomedov’s Bellator title defense.
Ahead of the PFL Champions Series: Road to Dubai event on Jan. 25, the Dagestani has been doing some promotional work on social media by claiming his region’s superiority over that of his cousin’s opponent, Ireland’s Hughes.
During a recent interview with BBC Sport NI, Hughes recalled his first time seeing Khabib suggest that Ireland ‘doesn’t have fighters’, a remark that brought back memories of his crushing triumph over Conor McGregor in 2018.
The 27-year-old expects to prove the UFC legend wrong come fight night in Dubai, and he’s got some words ready to tell “The Eagle” in the aftermath.
“I was out with a friend, and I saw it and thought, ‘I don’t really care.’ It’s just fight stuff but it’s good for marketing, it’s good he’s doing that, but I don’t really care,” Hughes said. “I respect him as a fighter, but I don’t care what his opinion is.
“Knowing he’ll be in Usman’s corner, I think when I win, I’ll be like, ‘I told you so,’ and that will be pleasurable but that is the competitor in me,” Hughes added.
Hughes has also reacted plenty of times on social media, first telling Khabib that McGregor ‘made him famous’, before most recently taking a dig at Usman’s failed drug test in 2023.
