On Jan. 25 in Dubai, PFL promoted a thriller of a lightweight championship bout when unbeaten titleholder Usman Nurmagomedov edged out Irish upstart Paul Hughes over five rounds by majority decision in, quite possibly, the best fight in the promotion's seven-year history.

Nine months later, on Oct. 3 in the same city, the stage has been set for an epic rematch in the main event of PFL Champions Series 3 and the two breakout stars in question haven't held back during interviews since the fight was announced.

"I said that in the buildup to the last fight, 'You are looking past me and that is going to be your demise. It was," Hughes told CBS Sports last week. "Obviously, I believe I won that fight. [Nurmagomedov] didn't take me serious enough and I humbled him. I brought him into a fight th

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