Gilbert Burns shares wild story of Usman Nurmagomedov’s 'bare-knuckle' brawl post-fight: "He was in the corner of Michael Chandler"

Usman Nurmagomedov and Phil Hughes ran into a verbal altercation during the face-off ahead of their PFL Road to Dubai Champions Series fight. The reigning Bellator lightweight champion challenged Hughes to fight him right there on the spot after exchanging words.

Gilbert Burns revealed a similar story of the 26-year-old Dagestani fighter where he fought his former rival for 20 minutes in a bare-knuckle brawl. Nurmagomedov is set to take on the 27-year-old Irish challenger on Jan. 25 in a Bellator lightweight title showdown. In the build-up to the fight, the duo has been attacking each other verbally for a while now.

In the podcast, Show Me The Money, Burns recalled a story when Nurmagomedov brawled with his former rival after fighting him inside the cage and winning a close decision:

"They went outside and they fought bare knuckle for another maybe 20 minutes...The guys on the gym...he was cornering...I'm gonna say his name I don't care. Abdulaziz, he was in the corner of Michael Chandler and then he said 'he beat me but it's a very close fight', he won the fight but it was a very close fight, and they keep arguing, and they say, 'you guys wanna go outside?"

He continued:

"They said, 'let's go outside.' They both went outside and they said their bare knuckles for another 20 minutes, when the fight got stuck a little bit, they break out and they kinda went his own way. And when I saw the video, Usman and Paul Hughes they were like confronting each other and they say, 'Oh you wanna do something?' This guy for sure that was real when he said that...I guess he meant what he said."

Watch Burns reveal the story on Usman Nurmagomedov below:

Nurmagomedov will set foot inside the cage riding high on his undefeated record of 18-0. On the other hand, Hughes has next to perfect record of 13-1 as he gears up to share the cage with the defending Bellator lightweight champion.

---

Paul Hughes targets Usman Nurmagomedov for not being as 'disciplined' as his cousin

Usman Nurmagomedov and Paul Hughes are days away from meeting each other in an ultimate showdown. As the tension between the two leading lightweight fighters, the duo continues to take swipes against each other. Earlier, Khabib Nurmagomedov also opined on the skills of Dagestani and Irish MMA fighters making Conor McGregor join the the online spat.

In a recent promo posted by PFL on their YouTube channel, the 27-year-old Irishman targets the 27-year-old defending champion for his lack of discipline and drive in contrast to his cousin, the UFC Hall of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov.

"I've heard rumors that this guy isn't anywhere as disciplined as his cousin. His drive is not the same as his family. This is everything to me, whereas, I don't think this is everything to him," Hughes said.

Watch Hughes' opinion on Usman Nurmagomedov below(2:01):