Paul Hughes’ striking proved to be too much for A.J. McKee.

Hughes (13-1) dropped McKee (22-2) early and fended off his grappling en route to a split decision win (29-28, 28-29, 29-28). The lightweight bout was the main card opener at The Mayadeen in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

In Round 1, McKee backed Hughes to a corner with a flurry. Hughes broke free and almost landed a flying knee. McKee grabbed a hold of him and worked for a takedown. Hughes broke free again and threw another big knee. It was clear what McKee’s game plan was as he attempted another takedown. Hughes reversed and wound up in top position. McKee worked for a leg lock. As he got up, Hughes landed a big knee, followed by a big overhand right which dropped McKee.

The pace slowed down in Rounds 2 and 3 as McKee pressed Hughes against the cage. Hughes broke free and threw a flurry. An accidental low blow by McKee caused a break in the action. Hughes attempted a big knee and slipped, allowing McKee to capitalize by grabbing a hold of him and keeping him down. Hughes spent the rest of the fight trying to fend off McKee’s grappling, but he outstruck him throughout and caused more damage for the win.

With the win, Hughes made it seven straight and proceeded to call out Bellator lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov.

BIG WIN FOR BIG NEWS! He CALLS OUT USMAN NURMAGOMEDOV!

[ #PFLSuperFights | #BraceForImpact | BUY NOW | https://t.co/kWyJTEGRvW | https://t.co/2BtPH3wso4 ] pic.twitter.com/eALho7knnJ

— PFL (@PFLMMA) October 19, 2024

Up-to-the-minute results of PFL: Battle of the Giants include:

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for PFL: Battle of the Giants.

Paul Hughes officially graduated from prospect to contender with his performance at PFL: Battle of the Giants on Saturday.

In just his second fight under the PFL banner, Hughes scored a brutal knockdown in the first round over A.J. McKee before ultimately winning a split decision. While there’s something to be said about the scoring in the fight with Hughes largely controlling the action across all three rounds, he still gets the win in the biggest moment of his young career so far.

“Look what I can do! I’m a superstar,” Hughes shouted at the camera after his win. “The PFL believed in me, look at me. I’m here on the world stage. I fought one of the best guys on the planet. I doubled down on myself. Who’s done that to AJ McKee? I’ll tell you what, that was not one of my best performances.”

Hughes showed no fear facing down one of the top lightweights in Bellator as he made a statement from the very start when he was able to shrug off takedown attempts from McKee to keep the fight standing. Hughes also unloaded a huge knee trying to catch McKee as he dropped down to grab a leg but the former Bellator featherweight champion narrowly avoided a potential knockout.

In a scramble, Hughes actually ended up on top of McKee where he began raining down shots from above while defending a few up kicks coming at him from the bottom. McKee continued to roll and eventually got back to his feet but Hughes made him pay for it just before the first round ended.

With McKee backing up against the cage, Hughes unloaded a massive right hook that landed flush on the jaw. McKee dropped to the canvas just as the bell rang to end the round, potentially saving him from some follow up shots that could have earned Hughes the finish.

Following a minute long recovery between rounds, McKee was a little more reserved with his offense, although he did launch a couple of successful straight punches to get Hughes attention. In return, Hughes clipped McKee with a slick combination but a jumping knee attack backfired as he ended up slipping and falling to the ground.

McKee did his best to take advantage with his grappling but Hughes never gave him anything to work with before he ran out of time.

With five minutes remaining, McKee once again looked for the takedown as he grabbed onto the body lock and pressed Hughes against the cage. When he wasn’t able to drag the fight to the ground, Hughes broke free and really started launching combinations while McKee was looking like his gas tank was running dry.

Hughes continued to set up his strikes while McKee just couldn’t get much going as time ran out and a new star emerged in the lightweight division.

Following the win, Hughes wasted no time proposing that his third PFL fight come along with some gold on the line.

“We want to see Ireland vs. Dagestan,” Hughes shouted. “We want to see Paul Hughes vs. Usman Nurmagomedov. Let’s go.”

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta describes his side’s performance as “an accident waiting to happen” as William Saliba’s red card in the 30th minute leads to a 2-0 loss for the Gunners against Bournemouth in the Premier League at the Vitality Stadium.

MATCH REPORT: Bournemouth end ten man Arsenal’s unbeaten start

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Anthony Hernandez and Michel Pereira meet Saturday in the main event of UFC Fight Night 245 at UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Check out this quick breakdown of the matchup from MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom. 

Last event: 3-3
UFC main cards, 2024: 87-77-3

Anthony Hernandez vs. Michel Pereira UFC Fight Night 245 preview

Hernandez (12-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) enters his first UFC main event on a five-fight winning streak. He has finished three straight opponents: Marc-Andre Barriault and Edmen Shahbazyan in the third round, and Roman Kopylov in Round 2. Hernandez has also taken home two Performance of the Night bonuses on his current streak. … Pereira (31-11 MMA, 9-2 UFC) also enters on a hot streak as a winner of his last eight, including three consecutive stoppages after moving up to middleweight. He has also taken home five POTN bonuses during his winning streak.

Anthony Hernandez vs. Michel Pereira UFC Fight Night 245 expert pick, prediction

The main event in Las Vegas features a matchup of middleweight contenders, Hernandez and Pereira.

Despite dealing with a slew of injury withdrawals for the past few years, Hernandez has established himself as a real force at 185 pounds. Whereas Pereira, who is riding the momentum of a 7-fight winning streak, has looked to be in top form since moving up from welterweight.

Although the stylistic dynamic slightly favors Hernandez’s relentless wrestling attacks (especially inside the smaller octagon of the Apex), Pereira will be incredibly dangerous early.

Aside from the fact that Pereira carries knockout power in his hands, the Brazilian is also good about going to the body – which appears to be kryptonite to Hernandez.

That said, we still haven’t seen Pereira’s suspect gas tank tested in some time, so I’m curious how “Demolidor” will deal with Hernandez’s Dagestani spin cycle of positional rides and attacks on the floor.

A Pereira win wouldn’t shock me, but I’ll officially side with Hernandez to survive the initial storms and pull away down the stretch for a submission win in Round 3.

Anthony Hernandez vs. Michel Pereira UFC Fight Night 245 odds

The oddsmakers and the public heavily favor the Uzbek fighter, listing Temirov -325 and Vergara +250 via FanDuel.

Anthony Hernandez vs. Michel Pereira UFC Fight Night 245 start time, how to watch

As the main event, Hernandez and Pereira are expected to walk to the cage at approximately 9:05 p.m. ET (6:05 p.m. PT). The fight will stream on ESPN+.