All The Way to the 🔝@PaulHughesMMA
unleashed relentless aggression in our
#CW170 Co-main event! pic.twitter.com/VzidYjPmWi— Cage Warriors (@CageWarriors)
April 8, 2024
Top prospect Paul
Hughes, who is currently a free agent, has expressed his
interest in a potential clash with Paddy
Pimblett.
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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.”