On Friday night in London, Paul Hughes will look to claim the Cage Warriors featherweight title once held by Conor McGregor when he faces Jordan Vucenic, which he believes will be his final act before signing for the UFC.
The Derry man has lofty goals.
Currently Cage Warriors interim 145-pound champion, after unifying the titles on Friday night, the Fight Academy Ireland product plans to launch a bid to become a global superstar with the world's flagship MMA promotion.
He wants the country to shut down when he fights, have thousands boarding flights to the US when he challenges for UFC gold. He desires the respect, the notoriety, the adoration and everything that comes with it.
It’s not a unique goal from a promising upcoming Irish fighter.
Yet, when you consider everything he has been through to reach this moment, it’s difficult to doubt the 24-year-old prospect.
Despite launching his pro-career on the same night as a huge domestic clash between Norman Parke and Paul Redmond in 2017, Hughes put on a showcase performance that put the scene on notice.
At 19, he looked like a child compared to his 28-year-old opponent, Adam Gustab. When the bell rung, Hughes put his experienced foe through a wood chipper of strikes to claim a first-round finish.
"To get that spectacular finish and performance in my professional debut, in the biggest arena in Belfast, and then for it to go viral…I kind of said to myself, 'Oh yeah, you can do this’. It was a special night, for sure," recalls Hughes.
Shortly after the contest, Hughes was devastated to discover a break in his left hand - collateral damage from the frenzied flurry he served Gustab.
After recovering and returning to training, he suffered a further setback when he broke his right hand. Two more breaks to the same hand inside a year left the young man’s situation in peril.
"The third break was probably the worst," he admits, "I thought, ‘That’s it, my career is over.’"
To make matters worse, doctors and specialists agreed with Hughes’ forecast.
"They essentially said I have to retire and that my hand would not withstand fighting. My whole dream, my life, everything I did each day - it felt like my passion and purpose had been ripped away from me. To get that ultimatum at a young age, taking another path was probably the easy option."
Many thought Hughes was a lunatic when he assured them that his dreams of becoming an elite MMA fighter were not over.
While he hung onto his aspirations for dear life, it was a chat with Belfast physiotherapist and lifelong athlete Paul McCormac that really reignited his purpose.
"Paul told me that I could definitely get through this and compete again," says Hughes.
"He said he’d seen it before and that he’d helped people through it. He told me that he had injuries ten times worse than a hand break. He was adamant that I was a fighter, I could get through it and that he would find another way."
His scintillating debut was a distant memory when Hughes remerged two years later, following a year of recovery from a hand surgery.
MMA insiders watched through their fingers as he went to work, but another confident first round stoppage resumed confidence. Six months later, he added another quick finish to his tally, followed by another 50 days later.
At 4-0, Hughes attracted the attention of Cage Warriors - the most recognised path to the UFC from the European scene.
A head kick knockout in his promotional debut erupted all over social media and a grappling clinic against the toughest test of his career to that point, Scotland’s Aidan Stephen, underlined his championship intentions.
The narrative surrounding that fight (Vucenic) has changed over time and it's funny because at the time, there was uproar
In December 2020, he met fellow featherweight standout Jordan Vucenic, who forced him the distance for the first time in his career. The Irish scene vented its frustrations when Vucenic was declared the winner by majority decision, forcing Hughes to taste defeat for the first time as pro.
The outcry from the result galvanised Hughes’ fanbase.
Vucenic went on to claim the Cage Warriors featherweight title and is considered a top UK prospect, but Hughes is adamant about leaving nothing to the imagination when they lock horns for a second time this Friday.
"The narrative surrounding that fight has changed over time and it’s funny because at the time, there was uproar. It was unbelievably controversial, but most importantly, it was the wrong decision. But it gives me a mental edge because I know that I’ve already got the beating of this guy," says Hughes.
"Jordan is saying, ‘all the pressure is on Paul,’ like he’s the underdog. If he really thinks he won the first fight, why does he see himself as an underdog?"
For most young fighters, making it to the UFC is the fulfilment of a dream, but Hughes’ ambition extends much further than that.
The Irish MMA community is still strong as witnessed at Bellator’s recent events at the Three Arena, the celebration of Ian Garry’s signing to the UFC and the growing numbers of people who train in the sport.
With that said, it feels like we will never get back to the crest of the wave the sport rode in 2015 and 2016 with Conor McGregor's double championship run.
Even for people who did not consider themselves fans of 'The Notorious', his fights became appointment viewing.
Hughes has tasked himself with bringing MMA back to the Irish masses.
👊In just three weeks time, Paul Hughes, will make the walk to the cage at #CW134!
— Cage Warriors (@CageWarriors) February 25, 2022
🏆Can the Irishman avenge his loss to Jordan Vucenic and leave London as the featherweight champion in Cage Warriors' biggest rematch ever? pic.twitter.com/KqWmuKx7kp
"I want to be a global superstar, but first and foremost, I’m an unbelievably proud Irishman. I feel like I do represent the people here, in Ireland and in Northern Ireland, because I was raised just like they were," explains Hughes.
"I’m just a kid from a wee town in Derry that grew up playing GAA and hurling.
"I think if I can continue to compete and continue to be the person that I am, I have the potential to inspire a lot of people."
