Irishman Paul Hughes believes he should have been awarded victory in his Bellator lightweight championship bout against Usman Nurmagomedov in Dubai on Saturday night.
The champion admitted afterwards he had “underestimated” Hughes but retained his belt and extended his record to 19-0 after the judges scored the fight 47-47, 48-46, 48-46 in his favour.
The 27-year-old challenger, however, said the decision was “pretty ridiculous”.
“As always I’m going to have to watch it back to get a good assessment and a clear-minded assessment, but as we know, we all thought I won that one,” he said in a video posted on his Instagram account.
“I think the judges’ scorecards were pretty ridiculous, but as I say I’ll watch it back with a clear mind.
“I’m just judging from the energy of the arena and everyone surrounding the cage. I thought it was mine.”
‘I know we’ll fight again’
Hughes echoed his post-fight call for a rematch and added that he thought the fourth-round stoppage caused by a clash of heads “changed the momentum” of the fight.
Nurmagomedov had to be checked by the doctor after the incident which left Hughes with a cut to the forehead.
When the bout resumed, the Russian ended the round strongly with a takedown and in the fifth landed several kicks to Hughes’ thigh.
“I’m not going to make excuses, though, I should have pushed harder and I will the next time. I know we’ll fight again,” Hughes added.
“I felt like the stoppage in the fourth round with the head clash changed the momentum of the fight.
“I feel like I was breaking him. I was ripping him so hard to the body and I knew my momentum was coming up and I would have emptied the tank but that changed the flow and he got good recovery.”
