The PFL continues to snap up rising European prospects with the lure of their million dollar tournaments.
After just two weeks on the free agent market, hot Irish prospect Paul Hughes has signed a deal with the PFL that will keep him with the promotion for the next three years.
Hughes made his name in Cage Warriors where he won the featherweight title and amassed an 8-1 record, becoming one of the most exciting names in European MMA. There was a lot of chatter surrounding where he would end up after defeating Fabiano Silva via first round KO at the start of April, with many calling on the UFC to sign the future star.
In the end, Hughes signed with the PFL instead, where he’ll fight three times in 2024 before entering the 2025 and 2026 million dollar lightweight tournaments.
“To have a promotion like the PFL snap me up so quickly after testing free agency is just a testament to them,” Hughes told Sky Sports. “They obviously believe in me, they believe in my skills, and look — at the end of the day I’m the best in the world so they’re quite right to pick me up and I’m happy I’ve reached a deal with them after less than two weeks since I fought. So I’m incredibly excited right now.”
“The PFL million dollar tournament is in my opinion undeniably one of the hardest competitions in all of sports,” he said. “It’s four fights in the span of a 10 month period fighting for the ultimate glory: a million dollars and a world title. It’s an easy sell, man. I believe I’m the best in the world, I believe I have all the skills, and I believe that I will be a millionaire by the end of next year.”
Hughes laughed when asked if the UFC had made him an offer.
“Definitely not a meaningful offer,” he said. “They came in with an offer, you know, but I know my value in this game and the PFL are aware of my value in this game and they are willing to invest in me and that is why — people think it would be a hard decision, it was the easiest decision in my life. If you weigh up the contracts, it’s a very easy decision to go join the PFL tournament.”
Over the past couple of years, the UFC has become extremely resistant to offering any prospects a serious deal. Paddy Pimblett was forced to sign a $12k/$12k contract to get his foot in the door. French star Cedric Doumbe walked away from a $20k/$20k UFC contract to make over $100,000 per fight with PFL.
So while it’s disappointing that another exciting new name isn’t coming into the UFC, it’s not exactly surprising.