Paul Hughes earned the largest win of his profession as he outstruck AJ McKee to win their light-weight bout by cut up choice in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Belfast’s Hughes, 27, dropped American McKee with a proper hook within the first spherical and impressed all through together with his harmful placing.
Hughes was an underdog going into the bout in opposition to 29-year-old McKee, who’s a former Bellator featherweight champion.
“The PFL believed in me and have a look at me now. I took the danger, I fought probably the greatest within the division. Right here I’m, a rural child from Eire. I wager on myself,” stated Hughes.
The bout opened the primary card of the PFL’s Tremendous Fights card, which is headlined by Francis Ngannou’s heavyweight bout with Renan Ferreira.
Hughes had known as the battle with McKee a “life-changing alternative” within the build-up to the competition, with the American representing the largest bout of his profession.
Hughes, a former featherweight champion in UK-based promotion Cage Warriors, was competing in solely his second PFL bout after defeating Bobby King in June.
McKee, in the meantime, was the face of Bellator for years earlier than it was acquired by the PFL final 12 months, together with his 18-fight win streak between 2015 and 2021 representing the longest within the promotion’s historical past.
Hughes’ lack of big-fight expertise in comparison with McKee was not evident nonetheless as he put the American on the backfoot from opening bell.
With Hughes wanting harmful, McKee instigated the primary grappling trade whereas narrowly avoiding a flying knee, which drew gasps from the gang.
McKee turned to his wrestling to attempt to nullify Hughes’ strikes however the Eire fighter defended effectively earlier than delivering the defining second of the spherical.
With McKee backed up in opposition to the cage, Hughes dropped him with a proper hook earlier than the bell got here to the American’s rescue.
McKee recovered effectively within the second spherical, avoiding severe injury from Hughes whereas delivering some fast one-two jabs, earlier than ending the spherical on high on the bottom.
However Hughes would take management once more within the closing 5 minutes, trapping McKee up in opposition to the cage as soon as once more and unleashing an array of strikes in opposition to the tiring American, together with an attention-grabbing uppercut.
After extending his report to 13 wins and one defeat, whereas inflicting solely the second lack of McKee’s 24-fight profession, Hughes known as for a bout with Russian Bellator light-weight champion Usman Nurmagomedov.
A fired-up Hughes stated: “We need to see Eire v Dagestan, we need to see Paul Hughes v Usman Nurmagomedov for the Bellator light-weight title. Let’s go!”
