PFL Belfast - Hughes V Wilson

The Professional Fighters League (PFL) has announced its return to Belfast’s SSE Arena on Thursday, April 16, as No. 4 ranked Paul “Big News” Hughes (14-3) competes in front of his home crowd once again, this time opposite the dangerous New Zealander and No. 6 ranked Jay Jay “The Māori Kid” Wilson (11-2) in a lightweight contest.

Hughes is coming off three huge fights in 2025, including two Championship bouts against the PFL Lightweight World Champion and PFL Pound-For-Pound No.1, Usman Nurmagomedov. Their two bouts in Dubai will go down in history as some of the best and most high-level competitive displays of mixed martial arts in PFL. His third fight was a first-round knockout within 42 seconds over Brazilian marauder Bruno Miranda at PFL’s first visit to the SSE Arena in Belfast last May, creating an unforgettable experience for Hughes’ faithful in attendance. Now looking to regain momentum, “Big News” is taking PFL back to his city to remind the world who he is.

Wilson is a dangerous New Zealander who has never been stopped in his 13 professional bouts. With serious power in his hands and the ability to end a fight on the ground, he has four finishes via KO/TKO and four finishes via submission. With only two losses on his record to elite fighters including undefeated No. 3 Archie Colgan and No. 2 Gadzhi Rabadanov, “The Māori Kid” always comes to fight and aims to separate his opponent from their consciousness. A victory over Hughes will catapult Wilson’s name towards the top of the lightweight division.

The PFL Belfast preliminary card will be broadcast in the U.S. on the ESPN App for fans with access to the ESPN Unlimited plan from 7:30pm BST, with the Main Card broadcast on ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes from 12am BST.

PFL Belfast Main Card:

Thursday, April 16 2026 | 12AM (BST)

Lightweight Main Event: #4-Paul Hughes (14-3) vs. #6-Jay Jay Wilson (11-2)

Lineup subject to change. Flags, sporting colours or tops are not permitted.