Paul Hughes thinks the judges screwed him at PFL Dubai.
On Saturday, Hughes challenged Usman Nurmagomedov for the Bellator light-weight title in the primary occasion, dropping a majority resolution after a hard-fought 5 rounds. A large underdog heading into the bout, Hughes gave Nurmagomedov the whole lot he may deal with for 25 minutes, and even had the advantage of a Nurmagomedov level deduction following repeated low blows, but it surely wasn’t sufficient to sway the judges, two of whom scored the bout 48-46 for Nurmagomedov.
Within the speedy aftermath of the bout, Hughes was complimentary of Nurmagomedov, besides, he nonetheless believes he must be strolling away the champion, posting his response to the loss in a video on social media.
“Clearly, as at all times, I’m going to have to observe it again to get an excellent evaluation and a clear-minded evaluation, however as we all know, all of us thought I gained that one,” Hughes mentioned. “I feel the judges’ scorecards had been fairly ridiculous, however as I say, I’ll watch it again with a transparent thoughts. I’m simply judging from the power of the world and everybody surrounding the cage. I assumed it was mine.
“I’m not going to make excuses although. I ought to’ve pushed tougher. I ought to’ve pushed tougher and I’ll the subsequent time. I do know we’ll combat once more.
“It felt just like the stoppage within the fourth spherical with the top conflict modified the momentum of the combat. I really feel like I used to be breaking him. I used to be ripping him so laborious to the physique and I felt him wheezing. I knew my momentum was arising and I’d have emptied the tank, however that modified the sort of movement and he acquired good restoration. Which, look, the headbutt was a headbutt. It was unintentional. He has all the correct to take that restoration.
“I’m clearly dissatisfied. I’m gutted, I actually am. I’m pleased with myself, however I do must get that again. I must get that again. I need to have that belt, quickly.”
The loss drops Hughes to 13-2 in his skilled profession, whereas Nurmagomedov strikes to 19-0 (1 NC).
