Usman Nurmagomedov vs. Paul Hughes

Usman
Nurmagomedov still proudly bears the torch for a now-defunct
organization.

The undefeated
American Kickboxing Academy export will defend his Bellator
MMA lightweight championship when the
Professional Fighters League kicks off its 2025 campaign, as he
meets Paul Hughes
in the
PFL Champions Series 1 headliner on Jan. 25 at Coca-Cola Arena
in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Nurmagomedov has pieced together an
18-0 record with one no contest through his 19 professional
appearances. He last saw action at Bellator Champions Series 4,
where he laid claim to a five-round unanimous decision over
Alexandr
Shabliy on Sept. 7. Hughes, meanwhile, enters the cage on the
strength of a seven-fight winning streak. The ex-Cage
Warriors Fighting Championship titleholder last suited up on
Oct. 19, when he took a three-round split decision from A.J. McKee at
PFL Super Fights “Battle of the Giants.”

As Nurmagomedov and Hughes approach their upcoming showdown, a look
at some of the numbers that have accompanied them to this
point:

26: Years of age for Nurmagomedov, who was born on
April 17, 1998 in Kizilyurt, Russia.

8: Nurmagomedov wins by knockout or technical
knockout, accounting for 45% of his career total (18). His list of
victims: Luis Muro,
Svyatoslav
Shabanov, Jerry
Kvarnstrom, Ruslan
Tuyakov, Roman
Golovinov, Gabriel
Baino, Issei
Moriyama and Dmitriy
Berestovskiy. Nurmagomedov holds six other wins by submission
(33%) and four more by decision (22%).

799: Days spent by Nurmagomedov as Bellator
lightweight champion. It ranks as the third-longest single title
reign in the history of the company’s 155-pound weight class,
trailing only Eddie
Alvarez (883) and Patricio
Freire (879).

10: First-round stoppages on the Nurmagomedov
resume, highlighted by his submission of the aforementioned
Henderson in the Bellator 292 main event on March 10, 2023. The
former
World Extreme Cagefighting and
Ultimate Fighting Championship titleholder bowed out 2:37 into
their encounter.

100: Combined victories between the last five
opponents—Shabliy, Henderson, Patricky
Freire, Christopher
Gonzalez and Patrik
Pietila—Nurmagomedov has defeated. They sport a cumulative .685
winning percentage at 100-46.

27: Years of age for Hughes, who was born in
Sydney on March 27, 1997.

6: Hughes victories by knockout or technical
knockout, accounting for 46% of his career total (13). His list of
victims: Bobby King,
Fabiano
Silva, Jan
Quaeyhaegens, Youri
Panada, Stephen
O’Neill and Adam
Gustab. Hughes owns three other wins by submission (23%) and
four more by decision (31%).

92: Seconds needed for Hughes to put away Gustab
with punches under the British
Association of Mixed Martial Arts banner on Feb. 24, 2017.
Almost seven years later, it remains his fastest finish to
date.

32: Rounds started by Hughes as a professional
mixed martial artist. He has gone the distance on five different
occasions and carries a 4-1 record in those bouts.

.734: Cumulative winning percentage between the
last five opponents—McKee, King, Silva, Quaeyhaegens and Jordan
Vucenic—Hughes has beaten. They boast a combined record of
92-33-1.