MMA fighter Paul Hughes recently made his PFL/Bellator debut, defeating Bobby King with a TKO in the co-main event at the Bellator Dublin. Before his debut, the Irishman held the Cage Warriors world title and hopes to emulate fellow countryman Conor McGregor.
‘Big News’ plans to chase lightweight gold in the PFL and has accredited such an opportunity to Conor McGregor. McGregor sat ringside during Hughes’s match, and after the battle, the debuting fighter called out McGregor, saying, “People talk shit, but this man changed the game and changed all of our young fighters’ lives.”
In a recent appearance on The MMA Hour, Hughes paid tribute to McGregor and his influence in MMA to the Irish.
“Dan Hardy asked me the question, ‘How does it feel having Conor McGregor here?’ I had just seen him, and he came up to the cage. I was looking at him, and I just spoke from the heart.” He told Ariel Helwani. “That’s the reality. I’m just speaking the truth. He did break down the mental barriers for us young lads coming up, especially coming from the island of Ireland.
“Just 10 years ago he was fighting Brandao in the same arena, and that was the beginning of his rise and beginning of the change of Irish MMA forever. Then 10 years later, he’s inspired me and I’m in the same arena, co-main eventing my first huge, global show. And there I am having an interaction with him cageside. It just felt right to thank him, because it was just the truth.”
Hughes’s latest win has put him on the fast track to becoming one of the next generation of Irish fighters. The athlete may be the next to pick up the mantle from McGregor. The 27-year-old’s new deal with the PFL has given him a long-term MMA goal of remaining in the lightweight season until next year. For now, the fighter intends to relax and enjoy his win.
“I’m going to take a week here and just take it in,” Hughes said. “It’s been a crazy journey since getting out of that —even before getting out of that Cage Warriors contract… Getting that all done, getting a fight booked in the 3Arena, a show being built around me, and finally going and doing the business. So I’m going to take a week and then after that we’ll talk to PFL/Bellator and see what they would like me to do.”
