One of the scariest knockouts of 2025 happened at PFL Belfast.
In the main event of the evening, Ireland’s Paul Hughes bounced back from his controversial loss to Usman Nurmagomedov with a 42-second KO of Bruno Miranda.
Earlier in the night, the PFL Europe Lightweight tournament took place with fighters competing for a spot in the semi-finals.
There, the 27-year-old Connor Hughes got his hand raised in the most violent of fashions.
Connor Hughes flatlines PFL opponent with massive right hook
A lightweight from Liverpool, the heavy-handed Hughes improved to 11-2 with a fantastic performance against Sebastien Di Franco.
Hughes brought his PFL record to 4-2, wiping away the loss in his last fight to the undefeated Jakub Kaszuba with a ferocious one-punch knockout of Di Franco on Saturday night.
Midway into round 2, Hughes ate a couple of shots from Di Franco before he unloaded a mean right hook that sent his opponent straight down to the canvas.
Di Franco’s head bounced off the mat in the center of the PFL logo. Hughes walked away and climbed on top of the cage to celebrate.
The unconscious Di Franco immediately received medical attention with medics putting an oxygen mask over his mouth.
Connor Hughes already has next opponent lined up after brutal KO
Back in the win column in Belfast, Hughes is one step closer to the $100,000 PFL Championship.
Competing in the lightweight bracket, Hughes’ next opponent will be ‘The Ghost Assassin’ Gino van Steenis in the tournament semi-final.
Van Steenis is the same age as Hughes at 27. Fighting out of the Netherlands, van Steenis improved to 6-1 with a decision win over Decky McAleenan on the undercard.
This was van Steenis’ PFL debut, and now the fighter looking to defeat a deadly Hughes later this year.