It didn’t even take Paul Hughes a full minute in the cage to get back into the win column
Appearing for the first time since his narrow majority decision title bout loss to Usman Nurmagomedov from earlier this year, Hughes dismantled Brazilian vet Bruno Miranda in just 42 seconds with strikes.
Hughes’ quick win took place in front of his hometown of Belfast, Northern Ireland, headlining PFL Europe’s first card of 2025.
The former Cage Warriors champ put together a slick sequence in front of a rabid supporting audience, catching a kick of Miranda’s, then following up with a hard left hook to the head of the off-balance Brazilian. The punch took Miranda to the canvas and set Hughes up for a ground and pound victory just moments later.
After his win, a fired-up Hughes immediately turned his attention to rival Nurmagomedov, whom he has been campaigning to rematch ever since he lost a Bellator title fight against him in January.
“Usman Nurmagomedov! You can run … But you’re dead. Your day is f****** coming,” Hughes said in his post-fight interview.
Hughes has quickly become one of PFL’s top European stars, being a large reason behind the card’s massive turnout in Belfast this weekend. A little over a year after he first signed with the promotion, leaving Europe’s regional scene and inking his first major MMA deal, Hughes has become a draw who had thousands of fans cheering him on following his win.
2024 Finalist Connor Hughes Opens Lightweight Tournament With Walk-Off Knockout
Along with the massive win from Paul Hughes, Saturday’s card featured tournament action, which has been the main focus of PFL Europe since it launched in 2023.
While PFL Europe’s tournament series downsized significantly this year—slashing their annual women’s flyweight and men’s welterweight tournaments—the brand still plans to host brackets at bantamweight and lightweight over the course of 2025.
The latter of the two competitions started this weekend, with Connor Hughes, Gino van Steenis, Aleksandr Chizov and Claudio Pacella all moving past the 155-pound quarter-finals in hopes of capturing their first title within the promotion.
Connor Hughes had the most memorable performance of the quarter-final round, scoring a highlight-reel walk-off knockout against Sebastien Di Franco.
Hughes and Di Franco were locked into a close battle on the feet, that was, until Hughes connected with a hard right hook, which put an immediate halt to the fight in the second round. Hughes had a strong start to the contest before then, getting ahead with a series of leg kicks and punches, but had seen Di Franco start to settle into the contest more as it progressed.
The win was a strong bounce-back for Hughes, who made it to the lightweight grand finals last season but had his momentum brought to a halt by Jakub Kaszuba, who finished him in December to earn his second consecutive PFL Europe title.
Gino van Steenis, younger brother of Bellator vet Costello van Steenis, survived a scary second round to overcome Northern Ireland’s own Decky McAleenan in a decision result this weekend.
While van Steenis had a dominant first and third rounds against McAleenan, putting together an overwhelming amount of control time on the ground, the 27-year-old had a scare halfway through the fight when a clean right hand dropped him to the mat. McAleenan clearly took the second round due to his striking, following the knockdown with brutal ground and pound, but it wasn’t enough to overpower the work van Steenis did in the other two rounds of the fight.
Van Seenis, a former GLORY Kickboxer and KSW fighter, noted afterward that he was somewhat frustrated by how his PFL debut went: “I’m not used to getting caught,” he said afterward. 10-fight Cage Warriors vet McAleenan mentioned that he plans to head back down to featherweight for his next appearance.
Aleksandr Chizov pulled off a big upset in his quarter-final bout, becoming the first man to stop Scottish prospect Mark Ewen with strikes. A left hook dropped the slow-starting Ewen early in the fight, allowing the Latvian fighter to end the bout with ground and pound shots just moments afterward.
Chizov was a sizeable underdog, coming back to PFL Europe after being eliminated in the quarter-finals of the previous two seasons. Making the most of his third and possibly last chance in the tour, he’s now back to his winning ways. Ewen was seen as the favored fighter in the matchup, entering his first-ever tournament after attaining an impressive record of six finish wins and one loss.
Italy’s Claudio Pacella had a competitive three-round scrap against English talent Gavin Hughes, getting the nod after 15 minutes. Pacella landed the better shots in a back-and-forth battle on the feet, mixing together punches and elbows both at distance and in clinch positions, but notably ate some shots on the return as well.
Pacella entered this year’s bracket as one of the least experienced prospects, having only competed as a pro since 2021. But he now starts his tournament run with a win over a pro with more than a decade of experience, including matchups against veterans like Chris Bungard and Yves Landu.
Here are the quick results from Saturday’s show in Belfast:
Bout 10: Paul Hughes def. Bruno Miranda via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 0:42)
Bout 9: Lewis McGrillen def. Alan Philpott via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 2, 3:17)
Bout 8: Connor Hughes def. Sebastien Di Franco via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 2:46) (Lightweight Quarter-Final)
Bout 7: Gino van Steenis def. Decky McAleenan via Decision, Unanimous (Lightweight Quarter-Final)
Bout 6: Haider Khan def. Sean McCormac via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 5: Aleksandr Chizov def. Mark Ewen via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 1:33) (Lightweight Quarter-Final)
Bout 4: Claudio Pacella def. Gavin Hughes via Decision, Unanimous (Lightweight Quarter-Final)
Bout 3: Eoin Sheridan def. Malichi Edwards via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 1:53)
Bout 2: Gemma Auld def. Sammy Jo Luxton via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 2, 2:43)
Bout 1: Corey McLaughlin def. Nahom Wedi via Decision, Unanimous
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