The main card for Bellator’s ‘Road To Dubai: Champions Series’ event has been confirmed. The show is scheduled to take place at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai on January 25th, 2025 and the line-up has a strong ‘Ireland vs. Dagestan’ feel to it.
Road to Dubai Main Event
A massive title fight tops the card in Road to Dubai as current Bellator lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov (18-0) looks to defend his belt against Irish sensation Paul Hughes (13-1). Nurmagomedov, a cousin of former UFC lightweight champion Khabib, won the title when he beat Patricky Pitbull at Bellator 288 in November of 2022. He has since defended the belt successfully against Benson Henderson, Brent Primus and Alexander Shabily, although the Primus victory has since been overturned to a ‘no contest’ due to a failed drug test for the reigning champion.
Paul Hughes has had a meteoric rise to stardom since signing within PFL/Bellator earlier this year. “Big News”, a former Cage Warriors featherweight champion, was victorious in his Bellator debut when he finished Bobby King at the Champions Series event in Dublin, Ireland last summer.
This earned him a high profile fight against A.J. McKee at the PFL’s “Battle of the Giants” pay-per-view event in October. The Derry native went into that gala event as a massive underdog but he followed through on his promise to “shock the world” by dominating McKee en route to victory, and in turn shooting his own stock through the roof.
Clash Of The Giants Serves as Road to Dubai Co-Main Event
Vadim Nemkov (18-2) and Corey Anderson (18-6) will meet for the third time in a heavyweight contest in the Road to Dubai co-main event. The pair clashed twice in 2022 when Nemkov was the reigning champion at 205 lbs.
Their first encounter ended in a no-contest after a clash of heads and when they met later that year, Nemkov emerged victorious after five rounds. He later vacated the belt to move up to heavyweight.
Corey Anderson claimed that vacant title by beating Karl Moore in Belfast, Ireland earlier this year and will now follow Nemkov up to heavyweight in a bid to even the score between the pair.
Fireworks At Featherweight During Road to Dubai
Two prolonged winning streaks will be at risk when Dagestan’s Khasan Magomedsharipov (10-0) takes on Ireland’s Nathan Kelly (11-2) in an exciting featherweight matchup.
Magomedsharipov has won all five of his fights under the Bellator banner, picking up some impressive finishes over Rafael Hudson, Piotr Niedzielski and Johnathan Quiroz along the way.
Nathan Kelly has bounced back after losing the first two fights of his professional career and has now won eleven straight. The 27-year-old Dubliner has rattled off three successive first-round finishes in the past twelve months and will feel more than ready for this step up in competition.
Also in the featherweight division, Ibragim Ibragimov (8-0) will put his unbeaten record on the line when he faces Ireland’s Kenny Mokhonoana (5-1).
Ibragimov has looked impressive since signing with the PFL earlier this year, submitting Josh Reed after just 50 seconds in his debut then picking up a decision victory over Nacho Campos on the “Battle of the Giants” undercard in Saudi Arabia in October.
Mokhonoana was last seen in action in September 2023 when he suffered the first loss of his professional career at the hands of Josh O’Connor. Prior to that, “Black Diamond” had finished every opponent he had faced, with four of those finishes coming inside the opening round.
Bellator ‘Road To Dubai: Champions Series’ Main Card:
Usman Nurmagomedov (18-0) vs. Paul Hughes (13-1) Bellator MMA Lightweight Championship
Vadim Nemkov (18-2) vs. Corey Anderson (18-6) Heavyweight
Khasan Magomedsharipov (10-0) vs. Nathan Kelly (11-2) Featherweight
Ibragim Ibragimov (8-0) vs. Kenny Mokhonoana (5-1) Featherweight
Renat Khavalov (8-0) vs. Cleiver Fernandes (9-1) Bantamweight
