Irish MMA fighter Paul Hughes faces his toughest challenge in his career this weekend in the PFL, as he takes on AJ McKee in the lightweight division in Saudi Arabia.
After winning the featherweight title in Cage Warriors, Hughes was one of the most sought after fighters in the world, with heavy speculation that he would join the UFC.
However, after long discussions, he made the move to the PFL, and had a successful debut with a win over Bobby King in the Bellator champions series in June.
Standing across from him in the Octagon on Saturday is former Bellator champion AJ McKee.
McKee grabbed the world's attention when he won the title in 2021 with a first round submission over Patricio Pitbull.
While he lost his title in the rematch, McKee is on a four-fight win streak, and Hughes will have to be at his best to come out of the contest with his hand raised.
Hughes is well-rounded, with clinical striking mixed in with wrestling.
Similar to McKee, should the fight get to the ground, both fighters will back themselves to cause damage to their opponent.
A win for Hughes would be a massive statement heading into 2025, where he will compete in the lightweight tournament.
Winning the Cage Warriors title made Irish people aware of Hughes, a win against McKee will make the world know his name.
Hughes and McKee will be on the main card in one of the biggest MMA events of the year.
Headlining the card is the return of Francis Ngannou to MMA, as he faces Renan Ferreira for the heavyweight championship.
Following defeats in boxing to Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua, Ngannou will compete in MMA for the first time since January 2022, where he defended his UFC title against Cyril Gane.
After a disagreement with the UFC, Ngannou signed for the PFL, and will face Ferreira for the heavyweight title.
The power of Ngannou is something the sport has not seen in other athletes, and often makes his opponents change their way of fighting due to the fear of being knocked out.
However, Ferreira has shown to have power of his own, with a round one knockout of Ryan Bader showing what he is capable of.
There will be a lot of questions asked of Ngannou heading into the fight, having been away from the sport for so long and suffering tragedy with the death of his son.
If he can win this fight, having taken a stance against the UFC and having had two massive pay days against Joshua and Fury, the decision to explore other options outside the UFC will have been worth it.
In the co-main Cris Cyborg will aim to add another title to her name, when she takes on Larissa Pacheco.
Cyborg is one of the most dominant champions the sport has seen, with titles in the UFC and Bellator at 145 pounds.
A title in PFL would be the latest achievement to solidify her as one of the greatest to ever compete in the sport.
Standing across from her in the octagon on Saturday is Pacheco, who loves to cause an upset.
Currently on a 10 fight win streak, Pacheco is the only person to defeat Kayla Harrison back in 2022.
A champion in lightweight and featherweight, Pacheco will go into the bout with confidence, with the motivation of adding another big name to her achievements.
The other title fight on the card comes in the Bellator middleweight division, as Johnny Elben defends his belt once again against Fabian Edwards.
Eblen knocked out Edwards in Dublin just over 12 months ago, and will aim to continue his reign as champion on Saturday night.
While the wrestling of Eblen is always a threat, he showed in the 3 Arena why his power should be feared.
Edwards however, did have some success on the feet, and will likely fight on the outside and hope he can defend the takedowns of Eblen.
The Main card, which will be opened by McKee v Hughes, being 9pm Irish time, and can be watched on DAZN.
