Paul Hughes made a triumphant return to his hometown of Belfast, performing before a packed house at the renowned SSE Arena and securing a brutal first-round knockout victory against Bruno Miranda.
Widely regarded as PFL`s premier homegrown talent from Ireland, Hughes was competing again after suffering his initial loss under the promotion`s banner in January. That defeat was a very close decision against Usman Nurmagomedov, a bout that many fans felt warranted an immediate rematch.
His opponent was Bruno Miranda, an experienced Brazilian fighter who had recently defeated Patricky Pitbull in the 2024 Global season. Hughes held a considerable size advantage over Miranda and was heavily favored to win.
Paul Hughes understood that a standout performance was necessary on his return to Belfast Saturday night to pave the way for another fight against Nurmagomedov. Though the Russian wasn`t present in Belfast, he was certainly monitoring the fight from his training location.
Miranda`s walkout was met with loud boos from the crowd, a reception only matched in intensity by the enthusiastic cheers for Hughes` entrance. The acclaimed singer Foy Vance, signed to Ed Sheeran`s label, performed `Grace` to introduce the Derry fighter before he stepped into the cage.
It took just one powerful left hand for Hughes to secure the knockout, sending the home crowd into a frenzy. After landing the significant strike, he followed up with aggressive ground and pound, forcing the referee to halt the fight very quickly.
Immediately after the win, Hughes challenged Nurmagomedov directly, stating that the rematch he had seemingly tried to avoid was now inevitable, and his `time is coming`.
PFL Belfast Event Draws Full House at SSE Arena
While the event on Saturday might not have received widespread attention in the United States, partly due to broadcast limitations, it proved to be a massive success locally. More than 7,000 tickets were sold, completely filling the venue previously known as the Odyssey Arena, a site that has hosted major boxing and MMA events featuring fighters like Carl Frampton, Michael Conlan, and Gegard Mousasi.
Hughes is exceptionally popular with Irish fight fans, having previously filled the 3Arena for his Bellator debut last summer, where he defeated Bobby King. His recent bouts include fighting on the undercard when Francis Ngannou returned to Riyadh and headlining the largest MMA event ever held in Dubai.
However, the local fans didn`t see a clean sweep of victories for Irish fighters throughout the event. Only Corey McLaughlin and Eoin Sheridan secured wins on the undercard. Notably, another fighter with the same surname, Connor Hughes, delivered a candidate for knockout of the year against Sebastien Di Franco.
Gareth Pendleton