Top prospect Paul Hughes, who is currently a free agent, has expressed his interest in a potential clash with Paddy Pimblett.
Hughes exhausted his contract with Cage Warriors, scoring a first-round knockout over Fabiano Silva at Cage Warriors 170 on April 6 in his final bout with the European promotion. Hughes shared much of his limelight at Cage Warriors with Pimblett, who signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship in 2021.
While both held the Cage Warriors featherweight title, they never crossed paths, as Pimblett moved up to 155 pounds in 2018. Hughes also made the move to lightweight last year, vacating his featherweight strap.
In a recent Instagram post where Hughes invited suggestions for his future, a fan proposed a tilt against “The Baddy” in the UFC. “Big News” approved the idea with some strong words for Pimblett.
“I like it!” Hughes wrote. “Mostly because I’d beat him with [one] hand. Absolute s—ebag.”
In a subsequent appearance on “The MMA Hour”, Hughes doubled down on his take, claiming to have never taken a liking towards Pimblett during their Cage Warriors days.
“Look Ariel, he’s a s—ebag man, he’s an absolute s—ebag, he’s been since his Cage Warriors days,” Hughes said.“To be honest, I’m not a huge one for beefs and all right. Now I only do it when it’s legit, it’s no fake stuff. But I think he’s always had a stinking attitude as well. Being around him in the Cage Warriors days, I’ve never really seen eye to eye with him, to be honest. And I think what he’s doing, his fights in the UFC — very very poor. I genuinely believe, as I said in the comment, I’d beat him with one hand and he’s a s—ebag. So absolutely a fight that I want down the line or would be open to.”
Pimblett is currently undefeated in five UFC outings and fresh off a unanimous decision win over Tony Ferguson at UFC 296 this past December.
While Paul is open to a future clash against Pimblett, he is not limiting his options to only a career in the Las Vegas-based promotion. Having already enjoyed a notable career, Paul is past the point of flexing about being a UFC fighter. Currently represented by manager Tim Simpson, Hughes wants to get his due wherever he goes next.
“I had to do a deep dive and I had to ask myself, ‘You know, is it fame that I want, is it just like clout, is it say that I’m in the UFC?’ And to be honest I don’t give a bollocks about that,” he said. “I just turned 27 last week, like I’m not that 21-22 year old kid that has this dream of only UFC and I want to say I’m a UFC fighter. I’m at the stage now where I’ve had a lot of big nights in my career, done a lot of big things and it’s not just about saying I fight in the UFC. Me, right now the No. 1 thing, being the best fighter on the planet. There’s nothing to say I can’t do that. I can do that anywhere. I can still be the best fighter on the planet, but I need to get my value.”
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