Who is Paul Hughes? The next Conor McGregor?

WEB DESK: Irish mixed martial artist Paul Hughes might be the sports next biggest star. At the very least, he may be the Professional Fighters League’s (PFL) best chance at competing against the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and their abundance of star-power.

After his title bout against Usman Nurmagomedov, Hughes is well on his way to becoming PFL’s biggest name. With a record of 13 wins, nine by stoppage, and two losses, all eyes are on Hughes to see what he does next. So how did he get here?

First since McGregor

After one fight in BAMMA, and one in Cage Conflict, Hughes made his way to Cage Warriors, an Irish-owned MMA promotion based in London. The organisation may be familiar to some, as it’s where arguably the largest star in the sport’s history, Conor McGregor, began to build his notoriety.

Hughes joined the promotion in 2019, and quickly put together a four-fight win-streak. However, in December of 2020, he faced adversity for the first time in his career, as he fell short in a bout against Jordan Vucenic.

Vucenic is an English MMA fighter who earned a title shot in Cage Warriors after defeating Hughes via split decision. He would go on to win the lightweight title in his next fight against Morgan Charriere. In the same month, Hughes returned to his winning ways, defeating James Hendin. That would set him up for a title shot of his own against Charriere. And in October of 2021, he would win the interim featherweight championship.

Hughes then got the revenge he was searching for, beating Vucenic in a rematch between the two in November of 2022, unifying the belts. He thus became the first Irish fighter to become the Cage Warriors featherweight champion since Conor McGregor.

Also read: Usman Nurmagomedov defeats Paul Hughes in close title fight

Earning a title shot

The Irishman then fought in two more contests in the promotion, against Jan Quaeyhaegens and Fabiano Silva, both of which he won by KO in round one. The first bout marked Hughes’ return to lightweight.

Next up on the docket for Hughes was his first bout in a new promotion, Bellator. He continued his streak of knockouts, defeating Bobby King in the second round.

A few months later, the PFL acquired Bellator MMA, combining two of the biggest promotions in MMA. Hughes would face his toughest test in his first fight under the new banner, as he faced off against A. J. McKee, an American fighter with a record of 22 wins and two losses. McKee, former Bellator featherweight champion, was on a four-fight win steak before Hughes ended it in October of last year.

The three round bout was closely fought and electric from the get go. The biggest moment of the fight came at the end of the first round. With seconds left, Hughes landed a huge knee to the chin, followed by a vicious right that sent McKee to the canvas. But the American survived, and found much more success on the feet in the next round. The third round saw McKee get the better of Hughes in the majority of the grappling exchanges, but it wasn’t enough to mitigate the dominance the Irish fighter saw in the striking exchanges.

Hughes won by split decision and earned a title shot against Usman Nurmagomedov. The Dagestani champion retained his title after securing a majority decision, however it wasn’t an easy win by any means. One judge had it a draw, 47-47, with the other two scoring the contest 48-46 in favour of Nurmagomedov. The closely fought affair has led many fans to hope for a rematch.

A second bout between the two could be the biggest fight in PFL’s history, considering the attention the first contest has gotten across the media. Fan interest in the promotion is clearly at an all time high, and now may be the perfect time to capitalise by creating a star in Paul Hughes.

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