Putting on one of the best fights of the year in their first encounter in the Middle East, Usman Nurmagomedov and Paul Hughes run it back for a second fight during the PFL Champions Series 3 main event. Before that, though, reigning light heavyweight champion Corey Anderson defends his strap against previous company tournament winner Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov.
PFL Champions Series 3 Main Event
Over the course of his run in Bellator, and now PFL, Nurmagomedov has looked almost unstoppable, logging three retentions of his former Bellator lightweight belt. It wasn’t until he faced off with Hughes this past January that the dominant Dagestani truly felt adversity for the first time, winning the fight after a tight split decision. Now preparing to end his rivalry with the Irishman once and for all, the inaugural PFL 155-lb king sets out to defend his new title for the first time with another magnificent performance in PFL Champions Series 3.
Pushing Nurmagomedov to his limits in their initial tilt at PFL Champions Series 1, Hughes proved himself a legitimate championship threat by testing the Russian both on the feet and in the grappling department. While scorecards didn’t play out in his favor, “Big News” rebounded in a big way by knocking out Bruno Miranda in 42 seconds in May, immediately calling out Nurmagomedov, setting the stage for a rematch for the ages during the PFL Champions Series 3 main event.
PFL Champions Series 3 Co-Main Event
Following a brief return to the heavyweight division to take on Denis Goltsov this past summer, Anderson makes his way back to 205-lb to defend his promotional gold for the first time since claiming it back in 2024. A veteran of both Bellator and the UFC, “Overtime” is looking to cement his place as one of the top light heavyweights on the planet in his first official outing as champion during PFL Champions Series 3’s co-main event.
Turning heads after his run in the PFL last year, Yagshimuradov utterly laid waste to both Rob Wilkinson and Impa Kasanganay, stopping the latter in the first round. Now stalking even bigger prey, “Wolfhound” puts his seven-fight win streak on the line when he comes to blows in his bid to hoist his first major world championship above his head.
Here’s how to watch PFL Champions Series 3
Online Streaming: You can catch the entire card on ESPN+, but you will need to subscribe in order to do so. Right now, the company is offering a monthly or yearly subscription of $11.99 and $119.99 respectively. For those who want to get more bang out of their buck, there is also the monthly Disney Bundle Deal, which offers ESPN+, Hulu, and Disney+ for $16.99 with included commercials, or $26.99 for no commercials at all.
Start Time and Date: The event is expected to begin at 11:30 am ET on October 3rd.
Bout Order For PFL Champions Series 3
Main Card:
(Lightweight) Usman Nurmagomedov (c) vs. Paul Hughes
(Light Heavyweight) Corey Anderson (c) vs. Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov
(Bantamweight) Magomed Magomedov vs. Sergio Pettis
(Lightweight) Archie Colgan vs. Jay-Jay Wilson
(Catchweight 140 lb) Jack Cartwright vs. Caolán Loughran
Preliminaries:
(Heavyweight) Pouya Rahmani vs. Slim Trabelsi
(Welterweight) Omar El Dafrawy vs. Florim Zendeli
(Lightweight) Luann Sardinha vs. Mirafzal Akhtamov
(Lightweight) Takeshi Izumi vs. Vinicius Sacchelli Cenci
(Lightweight) Makkasharip Zaynukov vs. John Mitchell
(Middleweight) Jarrah Al-Silawi vs. Gregory Babene
