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In August, the organization finalized the lineup for Road to Dubai: Champions Series 3 on Oct. 3. On Thursday, the tournament-based league announced that the entirety of the event will air live on the ESPN App for those with an ESPN Unlimited subscription. Fights will kick off at 11:30 a.m. ET/8:30 p.m. PT for that Friday show, one that will take place at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
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Headlining this tentpole 12-fight event will be a lightweight championship rematch pitting Usman Nurmagomedov (19-0, 1 NC) against Paul Hughes (14-2). The two will run back a thriller from January where the Russian prevailed by a narrow majority decision. While Nurmagomedov has not defended his belt since that bout, the 28-year-old named “Big News” clobbered Bruno Miranda in 42 seconds in May to cement his status as the division’s top contender. 2025 lightweight tournament victor Alfie Davis may await the next crack at the throne, or he could also opt into another tourney in 2026.
Uncharted Territory for PFL, ESPN With New App
The event will be airing on the ESPN App, with the former streaming platform of ESPN+ retired in August. From the ashes of that service will rise its app and the new Unlimited Plan, the latter requiring a $29.99 per month or $299.99 yearly cost. However, ESPN Unlimited offers access to every one of the ESPN networks without a cable subscription, as well as everything that ESPN+ would have provided beforehand.
Those that subscribe to Hulu’s Live TV package, the streaming version of DirecTV, Fubo TV and Spectrum TV may be able to reach programming through already-included television packages without an additional subscription. According to ESPN, advertisements during live events and other shows will still be shown no matter if part of ESPN Unlimited or ESPN Select—the latter is essentially a rebranded ESPN+ currently the same $11.99 monthly price as ESPN+ when it shut down. Bundling packages are available for other services like Disney+ and Hulu, which do have ad-free versions even if ESPN does not.
IT ALL GOES DOWN IN DUBAI 🇦🇪🏆
📺▶️PFL Champions Series: Nurmagomedov vs Hughes 2 will stream live in the U.S. on the ESPN App, exclusively for fans with access to ESPN Unlimited Plan on Friday, October 3, from the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai
🇺🇸 Streaming LIVE at 11:30AM EST… pic.twitter.com/SB5V7jSys9
— PFL (@PFLMMA) September 11, 2025
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
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