"I am trailblazing my own path here" - Paul Hughes explains why he chose to sign for PFL over UFC

Irish MMA fighter Paul Hughes has explained his reasoning for joining hands with PFL instead of the UFC.

'Big News' recently sat down for a chat with Mike Bohn for 'MMA Junkie' where he spoke about his decision not to opt for the multi-billion dollar promotion.

Hughes shared that he wanted to make his own decisions and in doing so, intended to act as an inspiration for the other up-and-coming fighters. Explaining his decision to go with PFL, Hughes claimed that he brought a lot of eye balls to his fights and to the sport in general and thus, deserved to compensated fairly.

"Look mate, I'm trailblazing my own path here. I'm on my own journey. I'm forging a new journey for myself but also for younger fighters coming up through this game that have star potential, you know... Why should you have to fight a few years before you start making money when you bring the value to the table? Where you should be getting paid your worth?

"That's how I see it... The value that I bring to this game and the value that I bring to my fights and the sport and the atmosphere and the feeling that I bring, I deserve to be compensated for that because I believe that I bring something different than a lot of people do."

Check out Paul Hughes' comments from the 10:38 mark below:

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Paul Hughes discusses competing on the same UFC card as Conor McGregor

Conor McGregor is all set to return to action and will compete at UFC 303 on June 29. He will lock horns against Michael Chandler in a welterweight clash, which will take place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

During his conversation with Mike Bohn for 'MMA Junkie', Paul Hughes, who shares a friendly relationship with 'The Notorious', revealed that had he signed with the top MMA promotion, there was a good possibility of him competing on the same card.

"Look, I mean, being on that [UFC 303] card definitely wasn't off the table, you know. There's no reason I couldn't or wouldn't have been on that card if I had chosen to sign with the UFC, which I, of course, had an offer from. These sort of things weren't off the table." [10:20-10:38]