Usman Nurmagomedov and Paul Hughes clashed in one of the best fights of the year in 2025, and now, they’ll do it all over again.
The lightweights are set to meet in the main event when the PFL returns to Dubai for a champions series card on Friday, Oct. 3 at the Coca-Cola Arena.
Back in January, Nurmagomedov remained undefeated with a razor-close majority decision win in a back-and-forth battle against Hughes. Ever since that night, Hughes has been calling for a rematch but first he had to dispatch Bruno Miranda in May with a blistering 42-second knockout.
Now Hughes is getting his second opportunity with the rematch booked against Nurmagomedov in October.
In addition to the lightweight title fight, Corey Anderson returns to action to defend his PFL light heavyweight championship in a rematch against 2024 PFL light heavyweight tournament champion Dovlet Yagshimuradov.
Their first encounter happened back in 2021 during the Bellator Light Heavyweight Grand Prix with Anderson scoring a third-round TKO victory. Yagshimuradov gets his rematch after rattling off seven wins in a row including a knockout over Impa Kasanganay to claim the PFL tournament title in 2024.
The PFL card in Dubai also features the previously reported bout between Artem Lobov and Zubaira Tukhugov as the longtime rivals finally look to settle their business in the cage.
Here’s the full card as it currently stands for PFL Dubai in October:
MAIN EVENT: Usman Nurmagomedov vs. Paul Hughes
Corey Anderson vs. Dovlet Yagshimuradov
Pouya Rahmani vs. Slim Trabelsi
Zubaira Tukhugov vs. Artem Lobov
Omar El Dafrawy vs. Florim Zendeli