Paul Hughes stunned AJ McKee as he landed the biggest win of his professional career against the former world champion.
Despite McKee’s years of dominance across the divisions in Bellator, it appeared that the focus of the pre-fight build-up was on Irish prospect. A former Cage Warriors champion, Hughes opted against joining the UFC this summer in favour of a bigger money deal with the PFL.
He won his debut under the Bellator banner in June as he co-headlined at Dublin’s 3Arena against Bobby King, landing a second round knockout. But he asked for a much sterner test second time out, calling for McKee in Saudi Arabia on one of PFL’s biggest cards of the year.
Paul Hughes lands major upset as he defeats AJ McKee by split decision
Entering the cage as a massive underdog, Paul Hughes attacked early and seemed to be landing knees at will on the oncoming AJ McKee. He had promised an exciting fight and that he knew exactly how the American would approach it, and seemed to back that with his pressure.
The striking exchanges throughout the first were clearly in favor of the Irishman, as he landed seemingly at will on his rival. And he even managed to stuff the takedown, almost landing a finish as he dropped his opponent to finish out the round.
The second was much closer as McKee managed to impose his game plan a bit more, landing takedowns and dominating position for most of the round. But even that stanza had bright spots for Hughes, who was the more impressive when they did strike.
It ended up coming down to the third, where McKee and Hughes both appeared to tire, with the Irishman marginally landing the better shots.
Cristiano Ronaldo watches on as Paul Hughes upsets AJ McKee
Midway through the first round, soccer icon Cristiano Ronaldo arrived after being invited to watch the main event. But he appeared to be watching intently as Hughes and McKee grappled through the second and third.
Ronaldo is known to be close friends with Francis Ngannou, and had just enjoyed a successful night at the office prior. He scored the winning goal in injury time during a Riyadh derby against Al-Shabab to continue his goalscoring run for Al-Nassr and land yet another win.
However, he wasn’t in attendance for the decision as he raced backstage to meet with the main event fighters. Hughes, a massive football fan, appeared delighted that the legendary player was watching his biggest night.
AJ McKee dismissed Paul Hughes ahead of their PFL clash
Hughes entered PFL with a ton of hype after rising has been rising through the ranks in Cage Warriors and winning the featherweight belt previously held by Conor McGregor.
However, during Hughes’ rise to prominence, McKee was competing for world titles and establishing his name atop two Bellator divisions. And he insists that he didn’t pay much attention to his now-rival’s rise until the fight was offered
Asked if he understands the hype around the Irishman, McKee giggled as he told BloodyElbow.com: “I don’t, if I’m being frankly honest with you I don’t pay attention to it.”
He added: “America has been the pinnacle of Mixed Martial Arts,” he noted. “We started this s*** straight up. My dad was fighting back in the 90s, we started this s*** here, especially in California this is where it started.
“I was a kid rocking around Tapout shows. I bet most people don’t even know Tapout did shows, and I was a kid running around those damn things with all those dudes, so it’s a different lifestyle out here but I’m not trying to s*** on anyone’s dreams.
“He’s trying to achieve his goals, obviously he’s being put in this position because he has done the work, and he feels he’s the next up. For me, my time is not over, I’m just getting started and it just sucks that he has to be the guy being put in front of me.
“I don’t want to s*** on anyone’s parade, but that’s kind of my job. Especially at this moment.”