Do Paul Hughes and Conor McGregor Train Together?

It’s nigh on impossible for Conor McGregor to stay out of a war between Ireland and Dagestan, don’t you agree? After all, it was his never-ending rivalry with Khabib Nurmagomedov that skyrocketed MMA’s popularity throughout the world. Now, it was time for his countryman, Paul Hughes, to go up against ‘The Eagle’s younger cousin, Usman Nurmagomedov, in a fight that’s being dubbed as Ireland vs. Dagestan 2. However, there’s a bit of confusion revolving around the Irish team. And Rizwan Magomedov‘s claims heightened those feelings. 

Hailing from the same land, the fighting community has been wondering if ‘The Notorious’ and ‘Big News’ share the same gym as well. This would directly mean that McGregor would be helping Hughes train and supporting him for his fight against the Dagestani champion. But how true are these words? Let’s find out!

Is Conor McGregor coaching Paul Hughes for Usman Nurmagomedov fight?

In a recent interview with RedCornerMMA, Magomedov claimed that McGregor would not dare to show up at the Coca-Cola Arena. But ‘The Eagle’ would certainly corner his cousin. He simply said, “No… He doesn’t have the courage to show up here… Even if someone confirms that he will come I know that he won’t.”

Nevertheless, McGregor showered his full support for Hughes. Back in 2024, Hughes sent a message to McGregor, asking him to be present in his corner at PFL Road to Dubai Champions Series. The former UFC double champion agreed to it and responded with, “Paul my man I will go to the arena and support 100% for sure and if it kicks off I’ll be in there before you could even say ‘The [Nurmagomedovs] are juice head in—d rats married to their cousins’”.

But his next set of words revealed that McGregor and Hughes do not train together. ‘The Notorious’ had quoted, “Your team and corner have done a tremendous job with you! They will take you all the way!” Fighting out of Belfast, Hughes is pretty far away from Dublin, McGregor’s hometown. And it’s not the SBG where ‘Big News’ trains. This is why, it’s not likely that McGregor coached Hughes. 

The former Cage Warriors champion trains at Fight Academy Ireland. He joined the gym about 5 years ago when he was 22 years old. Hughes has admitted that it was the coaching staff at Fight Academy that got him the success he enjoys in the MMA realm. But that doesn’t mean McGregor had no role in turning Hughes into a phenomenal fighter. ‘Big News’ began fighting at the age of 16 and decided to go professional when he turned 19. And it was Conor McGregor who reeled him into the world of martial arts. 

Having ‘Mystic Mac’ as his inspiration pushed the former Cage Warriors champ to ask McGregor to corner him at Ireland vs. Dagestan 2. But will the former UFC double champion actually corner ‘Big News’? Or is it all just another rumor like Magomedov claimed? 

Will Conor McGregor corner the PFL star?

Well, Hughes was forced to take a U-turn from his proposal soon after McGregor went knee-deep in legal troubles. Losing a civil case certainly put ‘The Notorious’ on the naughty list of the fighting community. And the world began asking Hughes if he still wanted McGregor in his corner on the 25th of January. In a conversation with MMA Fighting, ‘Big News’ finally shared his verdict. 

Hughes said, “Look, I mean the whole corner thing, that was the post-fight interview where things were just being thrown there. Other than that, that just blew up and did the rounds on social media a couple of times. Other than that, I haven’t mentioned it or looked about anything to do that. And obviously with things going down now, it’s not something I’m going to continue to pursue.”

Nevertheless, Hughes was pleased by the praise McGregor and Ian Garry had for him. With the lightweight championship title and half a million prize money on the line, ‘Big News’ would do everything in his power to claim a win over Nurmagomedov. But we’ll have to wait and watch what happens on 25th January. 

Do you think training with McGregor could have increased Hughes’ chances of winning against Nurmagomedov? What do you think of the PFL star’s decision of not having ‘The Notorious’ in his corner? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.