RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – [autotag]Paul Hughes[/autotag] was rightfully in a joyous mood after pulling off an underdog win over A.J. McKee at PFL: Battle of the Giants, and has his eyes set on a title shot.
“We all know who’s next! Usman Nurmagomedov is next!” Hughes yelled into the microphone as he arrived at a post-fight news conference. “We all know that, right? Let’s go. Let’s do this.”
For “Big News” Hughes (13-1), defeating McKee was his biggest career win thus far. Although, he admits things were not ideal coming into this fight, which may have prevented an early finish, as he predicted.
“If I had a little more pop in that last round, I’m not going to lie, I was gassed after the first,” Hughes told reporters. “I did not have the best training camp, and I felt that in my body after the first round. I didn’t quite have that pop. I knew exactly what I needed to do to get him out of there. I just – a little bit extra lactic that I wouldn’t have had, and I should have got him out of there.”
Hughes landed some big shots during the fight, including a couple of big knees to McKee’s face. It was a shot Hughes knew would be there. So much so that he pre-recorded a YouTube video that he planned to drop had he finished the fight with the strike, but he said he’ll have to keep that one in the drafts.
The fight was one of Hughes’ best performances to date, and even though he had to sweat out a split decision read, he was fully confident he did enough to win.
Now, it’s about chasing gold, which the Irishman believes should be his next fight. The undefeated Nurmagomedov (18-0) currently holds the Bellator lightweight title.
With the Nurmagomedov’s history with his fellow countryman Conor McGregor, Hughes would love to have “The Notorious” be in his corner for that fight, to bring a counter energy of sorts because Khabib Nurmagomedov will be in Usman’s corner.
“Conor, I want you in my corner for that fight, 100 percent,” Hughes said. “How cool would that be? I mean, we might need some extra security that night, but I’m down for it. I think it would be fun.”
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for PFL: Battle of the Giants.