With Cristiano Ronaldo in the audience, Patrício Pitbull's former rival suffers pressure and loses to 'McGregor clone' in the PFL

With Cristiano Ronaldo in the audience, former rival of Patrick Pitbull suffers pressure and loses to 'McGregor clone' in PFL. Photo: Reproduction/Twitter/PFLMMA

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Former Bellator champion and known rival of Patrick Pitbull, AJ McKee suffered his second career defeat on Saturday afternoon (18), in Saudi Arabia. With Cristiano Ronaldo among the spectators, the American came close to being knocked out, succumbing to Paul Hughes was defeated by a split decision by the judges.
With this result, Hughes shows that he has arrived to shake up the PFL and has a record of 13 positive results and one negative one.

See too

Ngannou surprises with ground fighting, defeats Renan Problema by knockout and wins PFL belt

Cris Cyborg makes history, defeats Larissa Pacheco in war and unifies belt in PFL

AJ, in turn, loses only the second one – the previous one being for Patrick Pitbull – and boasts a record of 22 triumphs and two defeats.

Paul Hughes breaks AJ McKee's unbeaten streak and moves closer to the PFL belt

If the preliminary card was not very busy, the main program started with everything by AJ McKee and Paul Hughes. The former Bellator champion landed a front kick, which made the Irishman retreat and change the game with a brutal knee. Experienced, the American locked in and tried to hold back his opponent's aggressive momentum, who was not intimidated and continued to strike from above.

The fight continued with high tension, with Hughes falling on top in a ground and pound position. With a series of strong punches, the Irishman scored and even injured AJ's eye. Standing and with three seconds to go, McKee received a strong punch and doubled over, but the bell sounded. The American was saved by the bell!

The second round also had moments of great tension and balance. Hughes continued the fight well, avoiding McKee's takedowns. Both fighters had standout moments, especially with the Irishman closing the distance and cornering the American against the fence.

In the third, Paul also managed to connect and rocked AJ, who almost 'lost his legs' and fell into the decagon close to being knocked out. The American, however, followed and eased the situation. At the end of the fight, Paul Hughes was surprised to see that the fight was a split decision and challenged Usman Nurmagomedov for a fight.

Check out the results of the PFL 'Battle of the Giants': Francis Ngannou vs. Renan Problema

MAIN CARD 

Heavy weight (up to 120,2 kg): Francis Ngannou derrotou Renan Problem by knockout (punches) at 3m32sec of R1 - title fight

Featherweight (up to 65,7 kg): Chris Cyborg derrotou Larissa pacheco in the unanimous decision of the judges (49-46, 49-46, 49-46) – title fight

Average weight (up to 83,9 kg): Johnny Eblen derrotou Fabian Edwards by unanimous decision of the judges (48-47, 48-47, 48-47) - title fight

Featherweight (up to 65,7 kg): Zafar Mohsen derrotou Husein Kadimagomaev in the unanimous decision of the judges (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Light weight (up to 70,3 kg): Paul Hughes derrotou AJ McKee in the judges' split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

PRELIMINARY CARD

Bantam weight (up to 61,2 kg): Raufeon Stots derrotou Marcos Breno via submission (rear-naked choke) at 3min01s of R3

Light weight (up to 70,3 kg): Makkasharip Zaynukov derrotou Dedrek Sanders in the unanimous decision of the judges (30-26, 30-26, 30-26)

Featherweight (up to 65,7 kg): Ibragim Ibragimov derrotou Nacho Campos in the unanimous decision of the judges (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Featherweight (up to 65,7 kg): Taha Bendaoud derrotou Tariq Ismail via submission (triangle) at 3min51s of R2