Paul Hughes knocked out Bruno Miranda in less than one minute in his PFL return on Saturday night.
Hughes caught Miranda with a perfect left hook before finishing the Brazilian on the canvas.
Hughes couldn’t contain his emotions after knocking out MirandaPFLThe Belfast crowd had already blown the SSE Arena’s roof off its core but the roars continued as ‘Big News’ embraced his home fans in one of the best atmospheres he will ever have been apart of.
Hughes will now rematch Usman Nurmagomedov for PFL’s lightweight strap in his next fight, which is expected to take place in September in Dubai.
Speaking to talkSPORT.com before his victory over Miranda, Hughes said he would like to return to Belfast as the champion in the future.
“When I’m the champion, when I beat [Nurmagomedov], perhaps some leverage might be in my favour and we’ll be able to drag him back here for the trilogy,” he said.
“Maybe in the Titanic [Quarter], maybe in Windsor [Park], we’ll see.”
Hughes bounced back from a devastating injury in his youth to win his first five professional MMA bouts.
Doctors advised him to retire from the sport after suffering from a recurring hand injury.
He broke his left hand at the age of 19 on his professional debut in Belfast before breaking it again when training for his next bout once he had fully recovered.
The Irishman then suffered two further breaks to his right hand, which made it four in total over a year.
Hughes said that specialists had told him to change career as his hand couldn’t ‘withstand punching people.’
x.com/search?q=Paul%20hughes&src=typed_query&f=liveHowever, ‘Big News’ defied the odds and continued to follow his dreams.
As one of the most sought after free agents in the world of MMA, Hughes signed a highly-profitable contract with the PFL in April 2024 after the promotion outbid the UFC to obtain the Northern Irishman’s signature.
He has now cemented himself as one of the best lightweight in the world with just one aim now of winning a world title in the promotion.
He defeated AJ McKee on his PFL debut back in October last year – on the same card Francis Ngannou made his inaugural PFL appearance – put his fellow lightweights on notice with a gritty split decision win.
He was defeated in his next bout, a world title shot against Nurmagomedov – cousin of the iconic UFC legend Khabib Nurmagomedov – but his stock rose tenfold in the process as many fans thought he could’ve won the fight.
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