Life-changing win, quick KO & controversial loss - Hughes' biggest bouts

Paul Hughes is set for a potential career-defining night on Friday as he takes on PFL lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov in their highly anticipated rematch in Dubai.

The rivals will fight for the PFL lightweight world title in what will be the co-main event of the PFL Champions Series: Road to Dubai.

A win on Friday would further propel the lightweight, whose professional record stands at 14 wins and two losses, into MMA stardom.

Before Friday's big fight, BBC Sport NI looks back at five of his most memorable bouts.

Hughes began his professional career in 2017 but really started to gain attention while he was signed with Cage Warriors.

His big break came in his ninth professional fight as he won the Cage Warriors interim featherweight world title after securing a majority decision victory over Morgan Charriere in October 2021 in London.

It was an action-packed, back and forth contest, with Charriere dominating the second round, before the momentum swung in favour of Hughes thereafter.

The man from Lavey took his opponent down and was in control in the later rounds, coming close to submitting his French opponent and landing a number of eye-catching strikes.

He was visibly emotional when receiving the belt and whilst Charriere has since joined the UFC, Hughes' trajectory has been on a similarly upward trajectory since that fight four years ago.

That win over Charriere set up an intriguing rematch for Hughes against Jordan Vecenic for the undisputed featherweight title in November 2022.

That belt was previously won by Conor McGregor before the Dubliner shot to sporting stardom as a two-weight UFC champion, so the importance of a win in propelling his career further what was not lost on Hughes.

Motivation for victory was only enhanced by the need for revenge as the Derry native had suffered his sole career defeat at that stage of his career against Vucenic in 2020.

Hughes lost out on a controversial split decision to his English opponent and their rematch was delayed by injuries sustained by both fighters.

When it was announced, the fight, which would take place over five rounds this time, was billed as the biggest in Cage Warriors history, given it would pit the champion against the interim champion.

With the pressure on, Lavey man Hughes delivered a superb display to take home a deserved unanimous decision win.

A head kick in the second round stumbled Vucenic and allowed Hughes to get the dominant position and control the majority of the round on his opponent's back.

At the end of the third round, Hughes almost stopped Vucenic after dropping his opponent following a body shot and a knee to the head.

Hughes then picked up where he left off in the fourth, dropping Vucenic with a combination of punches and in the fifth he saw out the contest on top.

It was a real statement win, that again had people taking note, but bigger things were still to come for Hughes.

In his second fight after signing for PFL, it was announced Hughes would take on AJ McKee in Dubai in October 2024.

Hughes had called the fight with McKee a "life-changing opportunity" in the build-up to the contest, with the American representing the biggest bout of his career at that time.

McKee, a former Bellator featherweight title holder, was an experienced and elite operator, having won 22 of his 23 professional bouts prior to meeting Hughes.

It was an obvious step up from Cage Warriors in terms of the calibre of opponent, and he was clearly the underdog, but Hughes passed the test with flying colours and made the world sit up and take notice with a split decision win.

Hughes caught McKee with a right hook in the first round and impressed throughout with his dangerous striking.

Whilst McKee fought back in the second round, Hughes would take control again in the final five minutes, trapping McKee up against the cage and unleashing an array of strikes, including an eye-catching uppercut.

In the immediate aftermath of the fight, he called for a title fight with Usman Nurmagomedov, and with his stock rising following the biggest win of his career, his wish was swiftly granted...

Unsurprisingly, the original fight between Hughes and Nurmagomedov in January in Dubai for the then Bellator lightweight title features on this list as it is considered one of the fights of 2025.

Hughes, again, was a huge underdog going into the fight and whilst he produced an impressive performance, he just fell short as Nurmagomedov claimed a thrilling majority decision win.

In round two, Hughes caught Nurmagomedov with a switch kick while he defended the champion's repeated takedown attempts impressively.

Momentum shifted in the fourth round following a clash of heads as Nurmagomedov ended the round strongly with a takedown and remained on top in the final round by landing several kicks to Hughes' thigh.

After Hughes escaped, the pair traded blows in a frenetic conclusion, with both fighters appearing confident they had done enough to secure victory at the end.

Nurmagomedov retained the belt and extended his unbeaten streak to 19 fights after the judges scored the fight 47-47 48-46 48-46 in his favour.

In the aftermath of the fight he admitted he had "underestimated" Hughes and knows he can ill-afford to do the same in their second fight on Friday.

Hughes said at the time the split decision win awarded to the Russian was "pretty ridiculous," a position he still maintains.

Hughes bounced back in style from that agonising loss against Nurmagomedov with an explosive 42-second knockout victory over Bruno Miranda in his most recent fight in May in Belfast.

Fighting on home soil for the first time since 2019, Hughes produced an electric performance that matched the atmosphere in the SSE Arena.

Hughes needed a big performance on home soil to stake his claim for a rematch against Nurmagomedov and he delivered, taking advantage of a lazy kick from Brazilian Miranda by catching it and delivering his knockout blow.

As Miranda collapsed and Hughes unloaded, the referee stepped in to stop the contest and a fired up Hughes soaked up the adulation from a raucous Belfast crowd.

"Usman Nurmagomedov, you can run and you can try delay this rematch as long as you want, but your day is coming," Hughes said in the aftermath.

Now, after months of waiting, the two will indeed lock horns again in for what is set to be another exhilarating bout in Dubai on Friday with Hughes having only the need for redemption on his mind.