Usman Nurmagomedov: Khabib had me back in gym a week after win over Paul Hughes

Usman Nurmagomedov chuckles when asked what his cousin Khabib said to him after his hard-fought win over Paul Hughes this month.

Nurmagomedov retained his PFL lightweight world title against the Irishman in Dubai, but Khabib, who was in his corner, could be heard screaming at the Russian during some contentious moments in the fight.

Nurmagomedov says he is back in the gym despite enjoying only one week of rest after the fight – on Khabib’s orders.

“At first he was so happy and congratulated me,” Usman tells BBC Sport.

“But then he said ‘You have to be starting training. Because we don’t have time for stopping and chilling. We’re here to work.’

“I said ‘OK, brother. Give me one week.’ He said ‘OK, one week’.”

Former UFC lightweight champion Khabib turned to coaching after retiring undefeated in 2020 with 29 wins from 29 fights.

Nurmagomedov’s victory was his second over Hughes after a narrow win in January, but the judges’ scorecards did not reflect a close battle – they scored it 50-45, 49-46 and 48-47.

“My opinion: I won every round; I took him down in every round. I threw my jab very well. And if he only did a couple of shots, I did more than him,” said Nurmagomedov.

“In my opinion there was no 50-45. It was like 48-46 or 48-47.

“People can talk. I don’t care what people think about me or my fight. The people who understand the fight, they know this was high level.”