Paul Hughes made a triumphant return to the win column with a spectacular performance.
Competing in the main event of PFL Belfast at the SSE Arena in his native city on Saturday, Hughes squared off against Bruno Miranda. This bout marked Hughes`s first appearance since his incredibly close decision loss to Usman Nurmagomedov in their Bellator lightweight championship clash in January. The event was largely built around Hughes`s homecoming, and he certainly delivered, dispatching Miranda in under a minute.
The atmosphere within the SSE Arena was electric from the start, highlighted by a memorable walkout featuring a live introduction by Irish musician Foy Vance. Hughes effectively channeled this energy into an aggressive opening against Miranda. He pressed the action, successfully caught a somewhat casual kick from Miranda, and countered immediately with a sharp left hook that sent the Brazilian crashing to the canvas. Hughes wasted no time, following up with ground-and-pound that prompted the referee to stop the fight just 42 seconds into the contest.
After securing the swift victory, Hughes had a direct message for his past, and potentially future, adversary.
He looked into the camera and declared, “Usman Nurmagomedov! You can run, you can try to delay this rematch as long as you want, but your day is f*cking coming!”
