Road to Dubai Champions Series

Road to Dubai Champions Series: Nurmagomedov vs. Hughes
PromotionBellator MMA
DateJanuary 25, 2025 (2025-January-25)
VenueCoca-Cola Arena
CityDubai, United Arab Emirates
Event chronology
Bellator Champions Series 5 : McCourt vs. Collins Road to Dubai Champions Series: Nurmagomedov vs. Hughes Road to Dubai Champions Series 2

Road to Dubai Champions Series: Nurmagomedov vs. Hughes (also known as Bellator Champions Series 6) is an upcoming mixed martial arts event produced by Bellator MMA that will take place on January 25, 2025, at Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.[1][2]

Background

The event will mark the organization debut in United Arab Emirates.[3]

The Champion Series 6 event was initially scheduled to take place on November 16, 2024 at Adidas Arena in Paris, France with a Bantamweight title bout between Patchy Mix and Leandro Higo as the main event.[4] However, this event was later cancelled due to unspecified reasons.[5]

A Bellator Lightweight World Championship bout between current champion Usman Nurmagomedov and Paul Hughes is expected to headline the event.[6]

A heavyweight bout between former Bellator Light Heavyweight Champion Vadim Nemkov and 2022 PFL heavyweight winner Ante Delija was scheduled for the event.[7] However, Delija withdrew due to not ever signing the contract due to him undergoing elbow surgery and was replaced by current light heavyweight champion (also The Ultimate Fighter 19 light heavyweight winner) Corey Anderson in a trilogy bout.[8] The pairing first met at Bellator 277, which the bout ended by no-contest in round two due to accidental clash of heads rendered Nemkov unable to continue.[9] Their second meeting took place at Bellator 288, which Nemkov defended the title and won the tournament by unanimous decision.[10] However, on December 15, Anderson stated that the fight was off because he is "too tough of a fight" for Nemkov.[11]

Fight card

Fight card (ESPN+)
Weight class Method Round Time Notes
Lightweight Usman Nurmagomedov (c) vs. Paul Hughes [a]
Featherweight Khasan Magomedsharipov vs. Nathan Kelly
Featherweight Ibragim Ibragimov vs. Kenny Mokhonoana
Bantamweight Renat Khavalov vs. Cleiver Fernandes
Preliminary card (MAX)
Middleweight Ahmed Sami vs. Tarek Suleiman
Flyweight Ruel Pañales vs. Hadi Al Hussaini
Welterweight Jarrah Al-Silawi vs. Yakub Sulimanov
Lightweight John Mitchell vs. Souhil Tahïri
Featherweight Assem Ghanem vs. Youssef Al Housani
Middleweight Mostafa Rashed Nada vs. Haider Khan
Lightweight Mirafzal Akhtamov vs. Mike Thompson
  1. ^ For the Bellator Lightweight World Championship.

[12]

See also

References

  1. ^ Lee, Alexander K. (2024-11-20). "Usman Nurmagomedov vs. Paul Hughes set for Jan. 25 PFL event in Dubai". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2024-11-21.
  2. ^ Guillen, Adam (2024-11-20). "Usman Nurmagomedov vs. Paul Hughes title fight headlines 'Road to Dubai' Champions Series event on Jan. 25". MMAmania.com. Retrieved 2024-11-21.
  3. ^ Riddle, Mathew (2024-11-20). "Bellator Announces Usman Nurmagomedov vs. Paul Hughes for Dubai Title Clash". Sports Illustrated MMA News, Analysis and More. Retrieved 2024-11-21.
  4. ^ Iskenderov, Parviz (23 July 2024). "Patchy Mix vs Leandro Higo tops Bellator Champions Series Paris in November". FIGHTMAG.
  5. ^ "Bellator Championship Series: Paris event for Nov. 16 canceled". MMA Junkie. 2024-10-03. Retrieved 2024-12-12.
  6. ^ "Usman Nurmagomedov vs. Paul Hughes for Bellator title set for Jan. 25 in Dubai". MMA Junkie. 2024-11-20. Retrieved 2024-11-21.
  7. ^ Cruz, Guilherme (2024-11-29). "Vadim Nemkov vs. Ante Delija to co-headline PFL's Champions Series Dubai card". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2024-11-12.
  8. ^ "With Ante Delija out, Vadim Nemkov to fight Corey Anderson at Bellator Champions Series event". MMA Junkie. 2024-12-11. Retrieved 2024-12-12.
  9. ^ Anderson, Jay (2022-04-15). "Bellator 277: Clash of Heads Leads to No Contest in Vadim Nemkov vs. Corey Anderson". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2024-12-12.
  10. ^ Dewar, Val (2022-11-19). "Bellator 288: Vadim Nemkov Wins Grand Prix, Million Dollars with Decision Over Corey Anderson". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2024-12-12.
  11. ^ Staff (2024-12-15). "Corey Anderson Says Nemkov Trilogy Off: "I'm Too Tough of a Fight"publisher=cagesidepress.com". Retrieved 2024-12-15.
  12. ^ "Bellator MMA | Bellator Champions Series Dubai". Bellator MMA. Retrieved 2024-11-30.