AFTER finishing another gruelling 12-hour day construction shift in Australia – Paul Hughes vowed to never work another day in his life.
And now six years later, he proved good to his word having emerged as one of Europe’s top talents in MMA.
Paul Hughes overcame a career-threatening injury to become an MMA starPFL
But it only came after overcoming injury hell having broken his hand THREE times – which threatened to KO his fighting career before it got started.
Hughes was born in Sydney but raised in Londonderry from the age of eight-months old.
He had a successful amateur career before making his debut in 2017 at 19 – but disaster struck when Hughes broke his hand in the fight.
The nightmare continued after the Irishman suffered the exact same injury just months later – with specialists warning him to retire there and then.
Hughes, 28, said: “I truly thought at times that it was over and that was everything. It’s my entire being.
“It’s everything that I’ve ever dreamed of with being constantly ripped away from me.
“I had a very, very vivid memory this week when I was reflecting one morning.
“And I remember it was, I think maybe the third time I broke my hand, just driving to the hospital by myself.
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“I remember just crying my absolute f***ing eyes out and I called my mum. I was like, ‘Look, I’ll be home late tonight. I need to run to the hospital. I think I’ve hurt my hand.’
“I played it down and I remember then getting the news and just sitting out in the waiting room just f***ing dead to the world.
“And then she walked in the door and was there to console me, so I actually had a very vivid memory of that this week.
“I reflect a lot which makes me very happy.”
Told he would never fight again, Hughes moved back to Sydney to rest and recover, but still trained ONE-HANDED while working odd-jobs.
But after Hughes’ hand began to recover following surgery, so did his MMA dreams, meaning the exhausting days on site had to come to an end.
Hughes said: “I remember the day that I was leaving the building when I was living in Australia, I worked in construction.
“I remember the last day just leaving the place and just saying to myself, ‘I will never work another day in my life! And that happened.”
Hughes moved back to Belfast and returned to the cage in 2019 – focusing all his efforts on his fighting career.
@paulhughesmma Hughes worked odd jobs before turning pro, including as a barman[/caption]
@paulhughesmma His career was almost ended after breaking his hand[/caption]
@paulhughesmma He moved to Sydney to recover[/caption]
He said: “Sydney is one of the most beautiful cities in the world no doubt. But it is a city that you have to work very hard in because it’s expensive.
“So, hence the construction job, hence the night shifts, I had to do the 10-12 hour shifts every day, whilst then doing the three to four hours of training.
“So it’s, it’s very difficult but them days thankfully are behind me. You’re not gonna be the best fighter in the world if you’re working a full-time job. That’s just simple.
“So I moved back to Ireland, I moved in full time with my team in Belfast who are still with me today and my life has changed since that.”
Hughes snubbed the UFC to sign with the Professional Fighters League in 2024.
He has won three since – including against ex-Bellator champion AJ McKee – but suffered a controversial loss to Usman Nurmagomedov in January.
The pair now rematch back in Dubai on Friday night – with Hughes’ eyes on the PFL lightweight title and revenge.
Hughes said: “As I said from the get-go, he was ducking in this rematch. He tried everything he could to possibly delay this.
“But we’re here, it’s done All that matters is Friday night.
“Since even before I turned professional, I’ve had one thing in my mind and that is becoming a world champion and here we are.”
Usman Nurmagomedov controversially beat Hughes
PFLNurmagomedov and Hughes facing off ahead of their rematch[/caption] Creator – [#item_custom_dc:creator]
