His fight against the Team Khabib fighter was one of the best fights that 2025 has had to offer, thus far. After the loss, Hughes called for a rematch in Belfast and though he was disappointed he didn’t the immediate rematch, his wish to fight in Belfast was granted. His opponent, Miranda, was a formidable finisher (11 of 17 wins coming by finish) and was coming off a win over Patricio Pitbull’s brother, Patricky.

Not unlike the times PFL booked Cedric Doumbé in France, the energy from the Irish crowd could be felt through the screen as Hughes was making his way to the cage. And the fans got what they wanted as Hughes caught a kick from Miranda and used it as an opening to land a clean left hand on Miranda’s chin. Hughes’ power was too much for the Brazilian who went down immediately as Hughes polished him off with some ground-and-pound.

Yes, he was heavily favoured to win, but slicing through a worthy veteran like Miranda in just 42 seconds is still incredibly impressive. For comparison’s sake, Miranda pushed both Brent Primus and Olivier Aubin-Mercier, two Bellator and PFL champions, to the second round. Miranda is undoubtedly a top5 name on Hughes’ resume.

After the spectacular finish, Paul Hughes, who had the crowd eating from his hand, delivered a great callout to Usman Nurmagomedov. Alluding that the Russian can delay this rematch all he wants, but his day is coming. If there was any doubt that “Big News” didn’t deserve an immediate rematch with Nurmagomedov, it would be hard to deny him after this type of performance.

Some people thought it was mistake from the PFL to not book the rematch right away, but I wonder how many still have that stance after tonight’s main event. Putting stars in front of their home crowd is never a mistake. Just look at Doumbé’s reception in France or Nurmagomedov’s in Saudi Arabia in January. Hughes getting a highlight like this, in Belfast, and grabbing the mic to call out one of PFL’s biggest stars is nothing but good business for the promotion. Being able to play the clip the KO and the callout in future trailers and promotional content in the lead up to the rematch can only increase the fan anticipation.

Official Result: Paul Hughes def. Bruno Miranda by KO, Round 1, 0:42

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PFL Europe: Belfast saw Hughes paired up with dangerous Brazilian lightweight Bruno Miranda, with Hughes entered the fight off a majority decision loss to 155lb Bellator champion Usman Nurmagomedov. While an immediate rematch had been on the tip of everyone’s tongue, the promotion opted to book Hughes in Belfast, where he fights out of (born in Australia, Hughes grew up and resides in Northern Ireland).

Where to Watch PFL Europe: Belfast

Saturday, May 10, 2025’s PFL card in Belfast, Northern Ireland is available via DAZN in the U.K. and Ireland. No North American broadcast is planned. Full results from the event, taking place at the SSE Arena, can be found below.

PFL Europe: Belfast Results

Paul Hughes def. Bruno Miranda via R1 TKO, 0:42 – Lightweight Main Event Showcase Bout
Lewis McGrillen def. Alan Philpott via R2 SUB (RNC), 3:17 – Bantamweight Co-Main Event Showcase Bout
Connor Hughes def. Sebastien Di Franco via R2 KO, 2:46 – Lightweight Tournament Bout
Gino Van Steenis def. Decky McAleenan via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) – Lightweight Tournament Bout
Haider Khan def. Sean McCormac via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27) – Catchweight Showcase Bout
Alex Chizov def. Mark Ewen by TKO (punches), Round 1, 1:33 – Lightweight Tournament Bout
Claudio Pacella def. Gavin Hughes by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) – Lightweight Tournament Bout
Eoin Sheridan def. Malichi Edwards by KO (punches), Round 1, 1:53 – Welterweight Showcase Bout
Gemma Auld def. Sammy-Jo Luxton by submission (rear-naked choke), Round 2, 2:43 – Women’s Flyweight Showcase Bout
Corey McLaughlin def. Nahom Wedi by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) – Featherweight Showcase Bout

The post PFL Europe: Belfast Full Results appeared first on Cageside Press.

Luxton (2-0) was supposed to fight for the PFL last June, only to withdraw from the bout. And for good reason, as she explained to Cageside Press ahead of this year’s PFL Europe: Belfast card.

While she has a “pure buzz going through my body” ahead of her return, 2024 was another story entirely.

“I ended up crashing my car, that was my fault. Then my car got broken into, and my whole kit bag got stolen. Then I was about a week out from my FCC fight [in March 2024], and my grandma passed away. And I didn’t really grieve her until after the fight,” recalled Luxton. “And then six weeks later, I got a phone call saying that my dad had a heart attack, and he was now in an induced coma.”

Luxton herself, while staying at her father’s bedside, then needed surgery as well. “I ended up getting put in the ward directly below my dad. So my poor family, they were going back and forth up the stairs between my dad and me.”

The hospital did make arrangements for Luxton to be able to return to her dad’s beside while still recovering herself, but she remained wheelchair bound when he passed away. Shortly after that, an infection stemming from her own operation spread to her ovaries and kidneys. “From that, it progressed into sepsis, so I got rushed into hospital again. I was seizing, tremoring, I was put on the strongest antibiotics possible.” Specialists were called, heart pains kicked in, and a nurse actually broke down, panicked that Luxton might die. Luckily, she pulled through, something her doctors attributed to her athleticism.

By the end of the year, Luxton was fully cleared. “Then in January, I got the phone call from the PFL asking if I would like to fight again. So grabbed the opportunity with both hands.”

Sammy-Jo seriously considered leaving the sport after tragedy piled on top of tragedy, even telling people at her gym that she was done. She continued to train, however, “and I feel like once you have that fighting bug, you can’t get rid of it. So the love for it just built back up, my confidence built back up, obviously physically I built back up. Now I’m just ready to fight again, and just be full health.”

This Saturday, Luxton takes on Gemma Auld at PFL Europe: Belfast. The promotion has built a number of female stars, from Kayla Harrison to Larissa Pacheco to Dakota Ditcheva. That is not lost on Sammy-Jo Luxton, who hopes to take a similar path and become one of the faces of the promotion. They just need a strawweight division first, as she plans to drop down.

“Originally when I was a Thai boxer, my weight was about 54, 55 [kilos]. That was my fight weight. So when PFL approached me, there was only a flyweight division at that point. So I just took it with both hands, and I thought ‘well I can eat a little bit more,'” noted Luxton.

“Now as the company is growing and there’s more opportunities, we’re looking at this fight at flyweight, then I’m going to drop to a catchweight at 55 kilos, then another one at 53. Just lowering my weight, and just giving myself time to feel it physically,” she continued. “And then hopefully next year there will be a strawweight [PFL] Global [division], and then I can solidify myself as one of the ‘It’ girls from the PFL.”

Watch our full interview with PFL Europe: Belfast flyweight Sammy-Jo Luxton above.

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Evra (0-0 MMA), 43 years young, will face an opponent yet to be determined in Paris, France on May 23, 2025. Promotion officials announced the news via press release on Friday.

In a football (or soccer if you prefer) career that stretched from 1998 to 2018, France’s Evra, originally from Senegal, made 533 on-field appearances and appeared twice in the FIFA World Cup. In eight years with Man U, Evra won 14 trophies including five Premier League titles and one UEFA Champions League.

He wrapped up his career with Westham in 2018; in 2024, he was found guilty by a French court of abandoning his wife, Sandra, and their child, and sentenced to 12 months behind bars, suspended for two years– a verdict the former football star has appealed. At the time, the court determined Evra owed 969,000 euros in unpaid alimony.

No debut opponent has been announced for Patrice Evra, though he was quoted in Friday’s press release as saying “You guys should know by now, I love this game too! I’ve performed on the world’s biggest stages, won every major trophy in football, but PFL Europe Paris will be an incredibly special night for me.”

“I’ve been training alongside the best in the world for years, and they’ll also tell you I’m ready for this. I’m going to put on a show at the Accor Arena on 23 May, so come watch the spectacle.”

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