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Paul Hughes defeats Bobby King by 2nd round TKO in Bellator debut! 🇮🇪#BellatorDublin
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— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA)
June 22, 2024
Paul Hughes has made a bold prediction about Ian Garry’s next UFC fight.
Garry will face former Bellator MMA superstar Michael Page in a tough contest at UFC 303 on June 29 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Page, who has built his career on highlight-reel finishes, is expected to dominate Garry in the stands. The fight will be decided pretty much one-to-one, but Hughes expects it to be an easy night for his friend and compatriot Page.
“I think it’s going to be a tough fight, but I think Ian can win it easily, to be honest with you,” Hughes said at the Bellator Dublin post-fight press conference. “I think it’s an easy win against MVP. I think Ian will cut MVP down low and Ian is obviously very fast. I think I can honestly see Ian beating MVP. Ian’s on another level. The Irishman does it differently. I’m a big MVP fan and I think he’s great, but I think there will be another moment where Ian does the job and everybody else just sits back and goes, ‘Oh my god, he’s amazing.’ So cheers for Ian.”
Gary is currently unbeaten in seven UFC fights and is fresh off a unanimous decision win over Geoff Neal, while “MVP” earned a splashy unanimous decision win over Kevin Holland in his promotional debut at UFC 299 in March.
Hughes, on the other hand, won by TKO in the second round.
Bobby King will make his Bellator debut, now owned by the Professional Fighters League, in front of a home crowd in Dublin on Saturday, and while Hughes is looking forward to competing in the PFL regular season, the former Cage Warriors champion is also hoping to headline a card in his hometown of Belfast.
“Millie is on my mind, but one thing I have to do before my career is to fight in Belfast,” Hughes said. “I have to fight in Belfast, that’s why I was talking about it there tonight. If you thought fighting in Dublin was fun, see what I can bring to the table in Belfast because, of course, that’s where I’ll be fighting. It’s great that PFL has bought Bellator and will have the PFL season, the Bellator Champions Series and PFL Europe. It’s going to be a ton of fun and it’s an absolute honour to be a part of the promotion.”
Hughes announced he was becoming a free agent after finishing his contract with Cage Warriors with a first-round knockout victory. Hughes signed with Fabiano Silva in April. Hughes was courted by several major promotions, but PFL signed him just a few weeks later. Hughes recently reiterated that the offer from the “other” promotion was nowhere near what PFL offered. Hughes also explained that it wasn’t the financial aspect of the contract that led him to choose PFL over a competitor. Hughes noted that he would likely never get the opportunity to headline a card in front of a home crowd so soon with another promotion.
“It didn’t come close at all. [to signing withthe UFC]”PFL expressed interest in me eight months ago,” Hughes said, “and they said to me, ‘We want you.’ Even when I became a free agent, they always said, ‘We need you.’ And they made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. It’s not just about the money. Everybody thinks it is, but it’s not. If I was in another promotion, would I have been able to headline Dublin right away? Would I have been able to headline Belfast or have an impact in that promotion? No. So those are the things I want and PFL has given me a lot of opportunities, and the longer I’m here, the happier I am with my decision.”
