“Has to Be Next” – Paul Hughes Leaves No Doubt, Targets Usman Nurmagomedov Showdown after KO Win

After a strong showing in Belfast, Paul Hughes wants a rematch with Usman Nurmagomedov.

Three months after dropping a majority decision to the Bellator lightweight champion in Dubai, ‘Big News’ bounced back in a big way, scoring a 42-second highlight-reel knockout of Bruno Mirando at PFL Europe’s first event of 2025.

With a seventh-career KO added to his resume, Hughes strongly believes a sequel scrap with Nurmagomedov is in order.

“Yeah, the fight has to be made,” Hughes said on The Ariel Helwani Show. “It has to be next. He can try to delay it, as I said in there. He can try it as long as he wants, but his day is coming. And I left absolutely no question out there tonight that that fight will be next.”

After learning of Hughes’ victory, Nurmagomedov gave the Irishman his flowers, but also offered a friendly reminder of who’s calling the shots here.

“Congratulations. Good job,” Nurmagomedov commented. “We will do it again but when I say.”

Paul Hughes open to a clash with brent primus

If the powers that be decide Hughes needs one more before getting another crack at the Dagestani’s gold, ‘Big News’ has a former champion already in his crosshairs.

“There’s plenty of options,” Hughes said during an exclusive chat with Bloody Elbow earlier this year. “There is one name that I think is the best in terms of storyline for building a rematch, and that is Brent Primus.

“Former champion. Usman could not finish him. They had a close enough fight. That I think would be a perfect fight for me in Belfast because I know I’d finish him, then we’d have that common opponent and it sets up an even bigger rematch.”

Primus is currently working his way through the PFL lightweight tournament. In April, he landed a third-round submission victory over Vinicius Censi, setting the stage for a semifinal match with Alfie Davis, scheduled for June 27 in Chicago.