'Terrible decision'… Usman Nurmagomedov vs Paul Hughes scorecards prompt angry response from fans

01/26/2025 02:18 AM

Fans were not impressed with the judges’ scorecards as Usman Nurmagomedov retained his title in Dubai last night.

For the final time before it gets replaced with a PFL strap, the Russian defended his Bellator belt as he squared off with Irishman Paul Hughes in an explosive main event. The Derry native battled him all the way, but was unable to do enough to get the nod on even one scorecard.

However, with Nurmagomedov taking a point deduction during the third round and Hughes coming on in the later stages, many feel that at least the draw was enough. However, only one judge felt the same as the bout was scored in the champion’s favor.

• Who is Islam Makhachev?Step inside the life of the pound-for-pound best fighter on the planet

Usman Nurmagomedov vs Paul Hughes judges’ scorecards revealed

While Paul Hughes was impressive at stopping the takedown early, he was unable to do much to stop Usman Nurmagomedov being the aggressor in the opening stages. And it appears that he found himself down by two points heading into the third according to two scorecards.

In round three, Nurmagomedov landed successive low blows and had a point deducted, which allowed the Irishman back into the fight. But all three judges marked the round a draw, indicating that the champion would have won without the deduction.

Perhaps the strangest marking might be Eric Colon’s decision to give Nurmagomedov the fourth round, which was universally believed to be a Hughes’ victory by fans and his fellow judges. Ultimately, Sal D’Amato and Colon both gave it to the champ, while Hadi Ali had it a 47-47 draw.

Fans rage online as scorecards are made public

In the immediate aftermath of the fight, standard complaints of a ‘robbery’ began to arise across social media. While it’s clear there wasn’t a robbery in such a close fight, fans were even more angered when they got a look at the official scorecards.

“I had Hughes winning,” one fan wrote when the cards were made public. “The judges gave that to the name and not the fighter.” Another then added: “Paul Hughes only getting a 46 on two of the scorecards makes zero sense. We need better MMA judging it's getting ridiculous.”

“I legit don’t see a way Usman won 4 rounds,” One user wrote after getting a look at the cards. “Only scorecards possible were 47-47 DRAW or 48-46 Hughes. Insane.”

However, there were some noting that it may just have been a close fight, with another adding: “Shows how close it was the 1 judge that gave 2 rounds to Paul didn’t give the 5th to him. Judge Colon only gave 1 round to Paul which was the 5th, Colon didn’t give the 4th to Paul but the other two did.”

• Who is Khabib Nurmagomedov?Inside the life of the most dominant UFC fighter of all time