On Saturday, Paul Hughes just came up a bit short against Usman Nurmagomedov at the PFL Champions Series: Road To Dubai. Dubbed “Dagestan vs. Ireland 2,” on the back of the Conor McGregor vs Khabib Nurmagomedov bout in 2018, the hype of Bellator’s last title bout was something else.

Despite the duo giving one of the best performances in company history, the controversial scoring took all the attention. Usman eeked out the win with a score of 47-47,48-46,48-46 to retail his lightweight title. Fighters and experts from all over the globe criticized the scoring as even the inaugural PFL Super Fight heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou sided with Hughes after the fight.

Francis Ngannou picks Paul Hughes

After the fight, ‘The Predator’ took to his Instagram and posted a story for the Irishman. Ahead of the fight, Hughes vowed to take revenge for McGregor and promised to defeat Khabib’s cousin. And even though he fell short, his inspiring performance impressed everyone.

Even the undefeated Usman, who was earlier skeptical of the Irishman’s prowess, acknowledged his skills. He shared “Big News” after a fight post on Instagram showcasing a bleeding Hughes. While the 27-year-old demanded a rematch in his caption, Francis Ngannou wrote, “You’re a beast,” and tagged the PFL fighter.

Ahead of the Dagestan vs Ireland 2, the former UFC heavyweight champion shared his opinion on both fighters. Ngannou revealed that earlier he was not a believer in Paul Hughes. However, that all changed during the ‘PFL Super Fights: Battle of the Giants – Ngannou vs. Ferreira,’ 19 October 2024 card. “I fought on the same card with Paul in Riyadh, and personally, I wasn’t counting him in. That was my mistake,” shared the former UFC heavyweight champion while talking to Bellator MMA.

He admitted that the way Hughes “managed to take out A.J. McKee clean,” he earned his respect. Evidently, the Irishman’s latest performance also impressed ‘The Predator,’ as he even praised him rather than the winner, Usman Nurmagomedov, someone Francis Ngannou is a huge fan of.

However, he was not the only one who sided with Hughes after the Dagestan vs. Ireland 2 clash, as even Jake Paul praised the 27-year-old, declaring him even bigger than Conor McGregor.

Jake Paul’s sneaky dig at Conor McGregor

Jake Paul, who has a share in PFL, plans to make his MMA debut with the promotion this year. After the main event, Paul took to his ‘X’ and claimed that Hughes did something that ‘The Notorious’ was never able to do. He wrote, “Paul Huges did what Conor McGregor couldn’t do. Congrats my guy. You won regardless of the outcome. Big ups to both men,” putting the controversial decision in question.

However, it was also an obvious dig at Conor McGregor’s devastating loss to Usman’s cousin Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229. Khabib completely dominated that fight with his superior grappling skills and earned a submission victory in the fourth round. ‘The Problem Child’ conveniently claimed that Hughes has restored Ireland’s honor by never giving up and taking the fight its entire distance.

With the likes of Francis Ngannou, Jake Paul, and other experts and fighters taking Paul Hughes’s side, the Nurmagomedov camp is empty even in victory, which increases the likelihood of a rematch massively. However, only time will tell whether we will get that rematch or not. Let us know your thoughts down below.