4 hours ago 2

PFL Belfast results: Paul Hughes demands Usman Nurmagomedov rematch after brutal 42-second KO

BELFAST — Paul Hughes underlined his claims to a rematch with PFL/Bellator lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov on Saturday night with a 42-second demolition of Bruno Miranda in front of an adoring hometown crowd at the SSE Arena in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

After being welcomed to the cage in uproarious fashion by the thousands in attendance, Hughes (14-2) found the climactic moment of the lightweight tussle when he caught one of the Brazilian’s kick then uncorked a brutal left hook that downed Miranda (17-6) and brought an end to the night’s action.

Hughes, who fought Nurmagomedov to a close decision loss in January, immediately took aim at the Russian champion in his post-fight interview:

“Usman Nurmagomedov!" he roared. "You can run, you can try and delay this rematch as long as you want, but your day is f***ing coming!”

In the co-main event, a stalwart of the Northern Irish scene returned home as Ballymena’s Alan Philpott (21-17) acted as a litmus test for the reigning PFL Europe bantamweight champion, Lewis McGrillen (12-1).

Being showered with boos on his way to the cage mattered not to McGrillen, who marched Philpott down from the first bell and eventually found a finish in the most unexpected manner.

Despite landing his patented left hand on a several occasions, the battle-hardened Philpott showed no intention of going down. Knockout artist McGrillen then turned to his his lesser celebrated skill set, finishing Philpott with a second-round rear-naked choke.

Following the bout, McGrillen called for an event in Manchester, the hometown of a number of PFL’s biggest names including Brendan Loughnane and Dakota Ditcheva.

Earlier in the night, the lightweight bracket for the PFL tournament got underway with Claudio Pacella, Alex Chizov, Gino Van Stennis and Conner Hughes booking their places in the semifinals.

Hughes (11-2) claimed one of the biggest finishes of the night in the final quarterfinal, scoring a brutal knockout of Sebastien Di Franco (10-4), who eventually climbed back to his feet after being treated by a medical team for several minutes after the stoppage.

Catch full PFL Belfast results and highlights below.

PFL Belfast full results:

Paul Hughes def. Bruno Miranda via first-round TKO (0:42) | Watch finish
Lewis McGrillen def. Alan Philpott via submission (RNC) (R2, 3:17) | Watch finish
Connor Hughes def. Sebastien Di Franco via second-round KO (2:46) | Watch finish
Gino van Steenis def. Decky McAleenan via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Haider Khan def. Sean McCormac via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Alex Chizov def. Mark Ewen via first-round TKO (1:33) | Watch finish
Claudio Pacella def. Gavin Hughes via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Eoin Sheridan def. Malichi Edwards via first-round KO (1:53) | Watch finish
Gemma Auld def. Sammy Jo Luxton via submission (RNC) (R2, 2:43) | Watch finish
Corey McLaughlin def. Nahom Wedi via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)