Lavey’s Paul Hughes says he will show a “killer instinct” when he takes on former Bellator featherweight champion AJ McKee in what is unquestionably the biggest test of his career in Riyadh on Saturday.
The former Cage Warriors champion is widely recognised as one of the world’s top MMA prospects thanks to a sequence of scintillating finishes and barn-burners since he joined the professional ranks.
Having performed impressively on his Bellator/PFL debut against Bobby King back in June, Hughes has now been rewarded with a featured 155lb bout against perennial contender McKee.
But the Co Derry man has insisted he is going to match up to the challenge in Saudi Arabia and has vowed to show no mercy when he takes on his Californian opponent.
“AJ McKee is a very dangerous guy. I 100 per cent have to be on my game on Saturday night,” began Hughes, who is part of the main card at the ‘Battle of the Giants’ event run by PFL.
“I’m a finisher at heart. I have that killer instinct. I think I have proved that throughout my career. I have knockouts with both hands. I have knockouts with elbows. I have knockouts with knees, and I have knockouts with head kicks. So, I am prepared for anything.”
“AJ is a fantastic fighter and I have ultimate respect, but he has not faced anyone like me. He has not faced a young man. He’s over there with his gold chain and designer glasses. Fair play to him, he’s worked hard for that money.
“I don’t have that yet. I’m young, I’m hungry, and I foresee a knockout Saturday night.”
The fight of the night will see former undisputed heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou make his return to the sport when the Cameroonian squares off with Brazil’s Renan ‘Problema’ Ferreira with the newly minted PFL Super Fights Heavyweight Championship belt on the line.
Also on the main card is the meeting of Cris Cyborg and Larissa Pacheco for the PFL’s Featherweight Super Fights world title, with the unbeaten Johnny Eblen taking on Fabian Edwards for the Bellator middleweight world title.
Coverage of the main card, which begins with the fight between Hughes and McKee, begins at 9pm UK time on DAZN.