FORMER Cage Warriors 145lbs champion Paul Hughes has earned a Bellator title shot.
The Derry ace earned the biggest win of his career last month in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia after defeating AJ McKee in a number one contender bout for the 155lbs title.
Hughes fights the unbeaten Bellator 155lbs champions Usman Nurmagomedov in January[/caption]
On Wednesday, the PFL (Who owns Bellator) announced that Bellator’s undefeated lightweight champion will face the Derry native (13-1) at a PFL event on Jan. 25 at Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai.
The Lavey man had called for a title shot after the impressive win over former Bellator champ McKee.
‘Big News’ is now 13-1 in his MMA career, with the single loss come after a controversial decision loss to Jordan Vucenic during his stint with Cage Warriors.
The Jan. 25 event was announced as part of a multi-year partnership between PFL and the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism, as well as the Dubai Sports Council.
Its been an exciting week for Irish MMA after Ian Garry was booked in a number one contender bout in the UFC’s welterweight division.
Shavkat Rakhmonov (18-0) will be Ian Garry’s opponent (15-0)in a five-round co-main event at UFC 310 on December 7 in Las Vegas.
It will be the first five-round bout of the Irishman’s career against a formidable opponent.
The Future’ debuted for the Dana White run organisation in November 2021 when he scored a stunning knockout win over Jordan Williams.
He went onto pick apart Song Kenan and Daniel Rodriguez.
But the Irishman’s most impressive wins came against the gritty Neil Magny and Geoff Neal before seeing off the slick Michael ‘Venom’ Page last time out at UFC 303.
Rakhmonov sealed his sixth octagon victory when he became the first fighter to submit Stephen Thompson at UFC 296 in December.
Rakhmonov took aim at the welterweight division on X after the fight was announced.
