Paul Hughes delivered a press release victory at PFL Belfast, stopping Bruno Miranda in simply 42 seconds in entrance of a sold-out SSE Enviornment crowd. The light-weight contender, rebounding from a slim and controversial majority determination loss to champion Usman Nurmagomedov in January, wasted no time in reasserting himself as a high contender. Hughes caught a kick from Miranda, landed a decisive left hook, and completed the struggle with ground-and-pound, prompting the referee to step in and finish the competition in beneath a minute.
42-Second KO
Reflecting on the struggle, Hughes mentioned, “It’s nearly like all the things went too good. Every little thing simply went past higher than I envisioned it. I didn’t count on to knock him out in beneath a minute, to be sincere. I type of wished to exit and, if something, I used to be making an attempt to start out with not an excessive amount of stress as a result of I didn’t need to get clipped, , as a result of Bruno hits arduous. However the left hook, it landed, after which that was it. So yeah, I’m feeling good.”
Paul Hughes Calls for Rematch with Usman Nurmagomedov
The win instantly reignited requires a rematch with Usman Nurmagomedov. Their first assembly was an in depth, five-round contest that left many followers and pundits calling for an instantaneous rematch. Paul Hughes made his intentions clear, each within the cage and in interviews: “They’ve to do that struggle subsequent. They must strike whereas the iron’s scorching. Take a look at the pop that obtained. The individuals need to see it, plain and easy. And also you’ve obtained to make the fights that the followers need to see. And look, it’s going to be the most important struggle the PFL have ever completed. It’s going to be one of many greatest fights in MMA of the 12 months. Carry it on.”
Paul Hughes added a direct message to Nurmagomedov: “You may run, you possibly can attempt to delay this so long as you need, however your day is coming!” Nurmagomedov, who stays undefeated and is considered one of many high lightweights within the sport, responded to Hughes’s callout by congratulating him however insisted {that a} rematch would solely occur on his phrases: “We are going to do it once more however after I say.”
Paul Hughes, for his half, is adamant that the rematch is inevitable and that it’s the struggle followers need most. Hughes’s perspective on titles is pragmatic: “Belts come and go and I don’t actually care that a lot about them. I care about what they convey. I’ll go to the grave with this: as I all the time mentioned within the leadup to this struggle, combating within the SSE Enviornment, which is the most important area you are able to do right here in Belfast, that was my primary. And I’ve completed that now. That’s ticked off. So I’ll go to the grave completely satisfied. Truthfully, I actually, really will.”
Past the cage, Paul Hughes continues to make use of his platform to focus on points essential to him, together with psychological well being funding in Northern Eire. “Psychological well being charities are utterly underfunded right here in Northern Eire. We’ve got the very best charges of poor psychological well being within the UK and we’re essentially the most underfunded within the UK… I really feel very strongly about that. We’re clearly a rustic that’s been by lots. There’s numerous trauma, and simply the suicide numbers listed here are uncontrolled. Like, they actually, actually are. It’s unbelievably unhappy. So look, it’s solely a really, very small assist me doing this.”
Together with his report now at 14-2 and momentum firmly on his facet, Paul Hughes has positioned himself for an additional shot on the light-weight title and a possible rematch with Nurmagomedov, a struggle that might be the most important in PFL historical past.
