Paul Hughes has vowed to shocked the world ahead of the most high profile fight of his career this weekend in Saudi Arabia.
‘Big News,’ a former Cage Warriors world champion, has been paired with the Bellator stalwart AJ McKee as part of the PFL’s historic ‘Battle of the Giants’ card in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Saturday night — and while just one fighter (Patricio Pitbull) has so far managed to defeat McKee in his 23 professional bouts to date, the 12-1 Hughes is more than confident of adding a second loss to the American’s career ledger.
“This is exactly what I called for whenever I came into the PFL,” Hughes told the media in Riyadh on Thursday, via MMA Fighting.
“I said I want the most entertaining fights, the hardest fights and I want to put on shows for the fans. That’s exactly what’s going on here. I think I did a pretty good job in my debut. It was a pretty good scrap. Fans were happy enough and this one is just another step up.
“Now I’m kind of in that position where I’ve got the opportunity to fight one of the best in the world and prove what I have been saying for the last year — I’m one of the best fighters on the planet.”
Hughes, who made his debut for Bellator/PFL this past summer in Dublin with a second-round finish of Bobby King, admits that their respective experience would suggest that McKee is the bookies’ favourite heading into the fight.
Perception and reality, though, are two different things.
“You put our records up against each other, you look at the experience AJ has against some of the best in the world for many, many years, on paper, I’m a huge, huge underdog coming into this fight,” he said.
“But look there’s a reason for the last 12 months I’ve been saying I’m one of the best in the world right now. I’ve mixed it up with some of the best guys in the world in training. I know my skill level. I know my capabilities. I know I’m a born competitor. You put me in there against anybody, I will win. I rise to the occasion.
“The proof that I have throughout my career, the higher pressure the fight, the bigger the occasion, the better that I perform. That’s just not me saying that’s what’s going to happen. I have proof of that happening. I’ve been there and done it. I’ve fought five round world title fights. I’ve performed every single time. Now it’s just the next step up. It’s a bigger stage but for me that means a better performance on my behalf.”
