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PFL star Paul Hughes has gotten his wish — or, at the very least, half of it.
Hughes enhanced his reputation in defeat earlier this year when he challenged for Usman Nurmagomedov’s Bellator lightweight title in the main event of PFL Champions Series: Road to Dubai.
Despite being largely dismissed by the Dagestani during the lead-up, “Big News” pushed him to the limit across five rounds. Some even believed the former Cage Warriors champion did enough to deserve the nod, a sentiment shared by the man himself.
With that in mind, Hughes was quick to call for an immediate rematch in his native country. In that regard, he appeared to have the support of the PFL higher-ups and many in the MMA community.
But with Nurmagomedov reportedly planning to sit out until the fall, the Northern Irishman has seemingly had to settle for just one of his wishes.
In a social media post this weekend, Hughes recorded a video in front of a sign advertising a PFL event in Belfast this coming May 10. News of that event was first reported by Al Zullino last week, and the locals look set to see their leading man in action at the top of the card.
“Dreams come true,” Hughes wrote. “May 10th- SSE Arena Belfast. Apparently Usman needs a wee break. So who the f*ck wants it?” #HOMECOMING”
With a second dance opposite Nurmagomedov appearing out of the equation for the time being, it remains to be seen who the PFL will line up to share the cage with Hughes in hostile territory later this year.
The Professional Fighters League (PFL) has officially announced the final fight card for next month’s PFL Europe event in Belfast.
Headlining the card is the return of Paul Hughes (13-2). Following his valiant performance against Usman Nurmagomedov, “Big News” gets his homecoming bout versus Bruno “Robusto” Miranda (17-5).
The co-main event will showcase the return of the 2024 PFL Europe Bantamweight Champion, Lewis “The McGrizzla” McGrillen (11-1). McGrillen is coming off a year where he clinched the title with two consecutive knockout victories. His opponent, Alan “Super Ali” Philpott (21-16-0, 1 NC), aims to silence any doubters in his first fight on home soil in 11 years.
See below for the full lineup for the PFL Europe event on May 10.
- Lightweight Main Event: Paul Hughes (13-2) vs. Bruno Miranda (17-5)
- Bantamweight Co-Main Event: Lewis McGrillen (11-1) vs. Alan Philpott (21-16-0, 1 NC)
- Lightweight Tournament: Connor Hughes (10-2) vs. Sebastian Di Franco (10-3)
- Lightweight Tournament: Mark Ewen (6-1) vs. Alex Chizov (10-3)
- Lightweight Showcase Bout: John Mitchell (10-2) vs. Lorenzo Parente (4-0)
- Lightweight Tournament Bout: Claudio Pacella (5-2) vs. Gavin Hughes (11-4)
- Lightweight Tournament Bout: Decky McAleenan (9-5-1) vs. Gino Van Steenis (5-1)
- Middleweight Showcase Bout: Haider Khan (9-1) vs. Sean McCormac (3-2)
- Women’s Flyweight Showcase Bout: Gemma Auld (1-0) vs. Sammy-Jo Luxton (2-0)
- Welterweight Showcase Bout: Eoin Sheridan (2-0) vs. Malichi Edwards (4-1)
- Featherweight Showcase Bout: Corey McLaughlin (0-1) vs. Nahom Wedi (0-0)
PFL Europe Belfast will be broadcast exclusively on DAZN in the UK and Ireland, as well as other parts of Europe. Tickets for the event are currently available for purchase via ticketmaster.ie.
Paul Hughes insists he is solely focused on his main event bout with Bruno Miranda at the SSE Arena on Saturday night, but his words betray him.
Within seconds of sitting down to speak to the media on Thursday morning, the name Usman Nurmagomedov rushes from the Lightweight’s lips.
Card headliner Hughes solidified his status as one of the biggest rising stars in all of MMA when he went toe-to-toe with Nurmagomedov in an all-out war in January, narrowly losing by decision in a bout for the Bellator World Lightweight Championship.
Many felt ‘Bad News’ won that bout, and four months later, it’s clear that revenge is still at the forefront of his thoughts.
“To be honest, the belts don’t really mean as much to me anymore. This is definitely more important than a belt right now.
“Is it more important than beating Usman Nurmagomedov? Probably not, but. It’s been my dream to fight at home and I will be living that dream on Saturday night.”
That bout with Nurmagomedov, who is the cousin of legendary UFC icon Khabib, propelled Hughes to superstardom.
It could be argued that the defeat and the manner of the decision was the best thing that could have happened to Hughes. He was already well on his way to the top before the Nurmagomedov fight thanks to his impressive win over AJ McKee, a victory which even attracted the attention of Cristiano Ronaldo who was in attendance that night.
Without the responsibility of being the champion, Hughes is free to headline Saturday’s card in Belfast, something which may not have been possible had he won the belt in January.
“I don’t know (if I see that as a silver lining), If I was the champ, would I be fighting in Belfast here? I don’t know.
“Maybe that is just the plan for me right now, to go and do this and actualise my dream, to build my following here, get another big win and then build an even bigger rematch (with Usman).”
For many, such a position at the top of the card in what is essentially a hometown fight would send the nerves into overdrive. But for 28-year-old Hughes, this is something he feels he was born for.
“I knew that this would be my destiny someday, I just had to be patient in the regional scene and work my way up.
“But, I did foresee this happening. I believe I’m going to be one of the biggest stars in the whole sport. Saturday night, I prove that once again.
“When it comes to pressure, that’s where I perform.
“Any nights in my career that have been high pressure, that’s when I’ve performed my best and I’ve got them reps in, so it doesn’t really affect me anymore.
“I think you could throw me out there in front of 100,000 fans, and I don’t think I’ll make a difference at this point.”
Hughes is hoping that Saturday night is the start of big-time MMA events coming to Belfast on a more regular basis.
7,000 will pack into the SSE Arena, but he has his eyes on a much bigger venue with gold up for grabs.
“Absolutely no question, I think I could do it (sell-out a venue like Windsor Park) in the next six months.
“If you gave me that rematch against Usman in Dubai, I smash him for the belt and we do the trilogy back at home here.
“That would sell 23,000, no problem.”
“I remember we were on the same training at Tiger, and he was quite young,” Miranda told MMA Fighting. “I’m happy to be fighting him now, someone I admire. I got to see his growth, so it’s an honor to be doing this main event against him in Ireland, a fight nation like Brazil.”
Hughes’ hype only grew after the contested defeat to Nurmagomedov in January. Fans have clamored for an immediate rematch, so Miranda sees this as “a huge opportunity for me.” The Brazilian talent doesn’t think it automatically sets him up for a shot at the lightweight belt with an upset, but it definitely changes the way he’s viewed by the MMA community.
“He’s had a solid career, and his last fight was great,” Miranda said. “I think he won, but that’s it. I’m here to break the odds, to break the favorites. It really is an honor, I respect him and [the] entire Irish nation. I’m going there with the utmost respect to bring the fire and get the victory.”
“I’ll be the thorn in his side,” he continued. “I have no expectations for after this fight. I’m not looking past anything, but I want to be the thorn in his side and bring the victory. [A title shot] could be possible, but I like to think step by step. Whatever comes next is a bonus. The main goal is to beat him. I’ll be happy with anything PFL offers me after.”
Miranda won a decision against former Bellator lightweight champion Patricky Pitbull in his most recent bout in June 2024, rebounding from back-to-back defeats to PFL champion Olivier Aubin-Mercier and ex-Bellator titleholder Brent Primus, and plans to test Hughes’ striking at the SSE Arena in Belfast.
“A fight is a fight and every match-up is unique,” Miranda said. “I can’t compare myself with his last fight because the styles are different, but he’s the type of fighter that puts pressure — and I love that. I’m an aggressive fighter at all times, and I wanna see how he deals with the pressure of being with a real striker in front of him.”
Paul Hughes had a big weekend over in Belfast, Northern Ireland where he earned a 42 second knockout win over Bruno Miranda at PFL Europe 1.
This was Hughes’ big follow-up to his razor close majority decision loss to Usman Nurmagomedov in January, which is widely considered to be one of the best fights in PFL history (highlights here). This time the Irish star didn’t go to the judges. He didn’t go to the second round. He needed just one perfect punch to put Miranda down in front of 7000 fans in his hometown (watch the finish).
In a new interview with Ariel Helwani, Hughes described how amazing it was to headline the SSE Arena in Belfast.
“The belts come and go, and I don’t really care that much about them,” he said. “I care about what they bring. I’ll go to the grave with this. As I always said in the in the lead up to this fight, fighting in the SSC Arena, which is the biggest arena you can do here in Belfast, that was my number one [goal], and I’ve done that now. That’s ticked off. So I’ll go to the grave happy. Honestly, I truly, truly will.”
But obviously there are new goals in place now, like winning the PFL lightweight belt off Usman Nurmagomedov. While Hughes has been calling for the rematch from the moment their first fight was over, Nurmagomedov has been less eager. After his big win on Saturday, Hughes once again called the Dagestani fighter out, and he believes Nurmagomedov is undoubtedly next.
“I’m very, very confident,” he said of PFL securing the bout for him. “At the end of the day, they have to do this fight next. They have to do it. They have to strike while it’s hot. Look at the pop that got. The people want to see it, plain and simple, and you gotta make the fights that the fans wants to see. And look, it’s gonna be the biggest fight that PFL have ever done. It’s gonna be one of the biggest fights in MMA of the year. And bring it on. Bring it on.”
Nurmagomedov sent some mixed signals after Hughes’ win.