Northern Ireland’s Paul Hughes has recorded the biggest win of his career defeating AJ McKee to win in Saudi Arabia.
Lavey-man Hughes landed a split decision victory over McKee in the PFL event with the judges scoring the tense bout 29-28, 28-29, 29-28. It’s just the second time the American has been defeated in his glittering career.
Hughes was fighting on the undercard of Francis Ngannou’s first MMA fight since his stint in boxing.
A delighted Hughes said: “It’s hard when you’re doing the one fighting to know the score. Judging from AJ’s face, I think it’s pretty clear I won that one. I nearly had him out of there.
“The PFL believed in me and look at me now. I took the risk, I fought one of the best in the division. Here I am, a rural kid from Ireland. I bet on myself.
“How many times did I hurt him? Who else has done that to AJ McKee? That knee almost took him out in the first round. And I tell you what, that wasn’t one of my best performances. I was completely gassed after the first round. I had to dig down deep to get that win.”
“We want to see Ireland v Dagestan, we want to see Paul Hughes v Usman Nurmagomedov for the Bellator lightweight title”