Paul Hughes unbothered by Usman Nurmagomedov's past drug test failure, vows to 'bring him to hell'

Even if Bellator lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov intentionally used performance-enhancing drugs, Paul Hughes believes it wouldn’t make a difference in their upcoming fight.

As we’ve seen over the years, high-level fighters coming out of Ireland are a confident bunch, and Hughes (13-1) is no different. He may not be as loud and bodacious as Conor McGregor, but the confidence in his ability inside the cage is the same.

At Bellator Champion Series: Road to Dubai on Jan. 25, 2025, Hughes gets a crack lightweight gold against the undefeated Nurmagomedov (18-0). The champ’s record is unblemished, although a Bellator 300 win over Brent Primus was overturned due to a positive drug test.

Nurmagomedov said the result was due to prescribed medication and there was no intention of attempting to gain an advantage. For Hughes, that issue is essentially an afterthought, but if his opponent was looking for an edge, it wouldn’t make a difference.

“I haven’t thought too much on it, to be honest,” Hughest told MMA Junkie. “At the end of the day, you know, it’s gonna take more than steroids to beat me, especially over five rounds. Yes, obviously Russia has history with doping and stuff like that, people are naturally going to think he’s definitely juicing. In mixed martial arts, I think skills really pay the bills and especially over five rounds. I think that whether he’s taking steroids or not, he might be, a lot of people are 100 percent convinced that he’s juicing and that his team juices. Whether or not you want to believe that, I don’t think it makes a difference to me.

“You put me in the cage with any 155er over five rounds and I will beat them, because I can go to the death to beat somebody. I’ve done it before and I can do it again if I need to. So, whatever. If he took them, he took them. If he did take them, to me, that’s mental weakness. That’s pure, pure mental weakness. And as I say, no man at 155 can beat me over five rounds.”

Hughes, 27, has been on a roll since losing a split decision to Jordan Vucenic in December 2020, the lone loss on his professional record. Since then, he has won seven straight fights, inlcuding three stoppages and a big win over former Bellator champ AJ McKee in October which led to his title opportunity.

For Hughes, winning the Bellator lightweight championship would help restore excitment in the Irish MMA scene, and he’s extremely confident he can put a 1 in Nurmagomedov’s loss column.

“I’m gonna bring this man to hell, 100 percent, if I need to,” Hughes said. “Now, I am very confident that I can knock him out clean as I almost, almost, almost did with AJ. I called the shot and all, it was so close. I see shots against Usman, and I know for a fact that I can put him out, but I also know that I can bring him to hell for five rounds, to a place that nobody has ever brought him before.

“That’s when I do my best work, whenever I can drag people into hell, because I live there. I’ve been there many times in my career, and I’ve always, always came out victorious. The biggest nights that I’ve had, the most pressure, have been the nights that I performed the best. I’m honestly unbelievably confident going into this fight.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator Champions Series: Road to Dubai.