“Paul Hughes had his chance”: Archie Kolgan is totally certain he is fighting Usman Nurmagomedov

Archie Kolgan was eager to return to work when he received the words that he not only booked the next fight, but also that the winner was competing in the match of the first contender, who won a shot at lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov.

It was music to his ears, but not so much for Paul Hughes, who has been looking for a rematch with Nurmagomedov since losing his razor majority decision in January. When the PFL initially announced the Corgan fight against Mansour Barnawi with those bets, Hughes said on social media, “Hey, I quit with Ragebait.”

Hughes may end up winning another title shot in the future, but Colgan says his fight has always been presented as a match for the first contender and won the opportunity after a dominant victory over Barnawi.

“I knew it would lead to that,” Colgan told MMA Fighting. “(My manager) Ali (Abderaziz) had told me that my next fight would be the number one candidate fight.

“I’m (hoping to fight Usman next); if I didn’t make sense (labeling) it would have labeled it as the number one competitor fight. They should have called it a showcase fight. Usman.”

Kolgan understands why Hughes is upset with the way things unfold, especially after he gets a ferocious quick finish in a recent battle and gets him back on track after being defeated by Nurmagomedov at the beginning of the year.

That said, Colgan believes he got this opportunity, accumulating an impressive 12-0 record along the way as he steadily climbed the lightweight ranks.

“There’s no shade for Paul Hughes,” Colgan said. “I think he’s a great fighter. Paul Hughes had his opportunity and I think he had a great fight. He was a very good fight and he got a little shorter. That was his opportunity. I think it’s an opportunity for that future.

When Hughes won, he ultimately lost a close decision on the scorecard.

During that fight, Hughes showed incredible takedown defense and grappling ability to stop some of Nurmagomedov’s best weapons, especially when it comes to his wrestling. Kolgan respects Hughes for being able to give Nurmagomedov a headache in that part of the game, but he promises to be a completely different match with him involved.

Before he became a top lightweight prospect, Colgan was a standout wrestler at the University of Wyoming, so we know that Hughes is presenting the issue to Nurmagomedov, who could not produce.

“That’s the argument. At least that’s my argument,” explained Kolgan. “It’ll be hard for him, not just when (usman) goes to defeat me. He’ll know that grappling interactions will be more difficult because this guy has a good wrestling base.

“What happens when this guy takes me down? What happens if I have to get up and stand up and fight the hand? It’s not just a possibility, but it’s going to happen. I’ll get a takedown. It’s not just a defensive threat to stop the takedown, but I’ll take you down.”

For now, Kolgan says the PFL has not overtured as far as scheduling is concerned, but expects a battle with Nurmagomedov will occur around October or November.

Assuming the fight goes his way, Colgan welcomes the challenges that the PFL cast his way, and perhaps Hughes could have another opportunity to fight at the time, but for now he will have to line up.

“Of course (I’m going to fight Paul Hughes),” Kolgan said. “At that point, the shot is called. You are the champion, you own the belt, you become the hunt. Someone who thinks they deserve a person.

“I’m sure Usman wants a rematch. I’m sure Paul Hughes wants a crack at him. Then there’s clearly a tournament. In my opinion, Kazi (Rabadanov) will probably be the winner of the tournament.