“Cherry on top there” - MMA star Paul Hughes delighted as he poses with Cristiano Ronaldo after securing biggest win of his career

Cristiano Ronaldo and Paul Hughes. [@paulhughesmma Instagram]
Cristiano Ronaldo and Paul Hughes. [@paulhughesmma Instagram]

MMA star Paul Hughes was surprised by football legend Cristiano Ronaldo recently. Hughes claimed an upset win on the undercard of Francis Ngannou's return to the sport at PFL Super Fights: Battle of the Giants in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Saturday, October 19.

To the surprise of many following the event ringside or across the world, Hughes defeated Bellator MMA 145lbs champion AJ McKee. He then took to social media to share a message of appreciation for having met Ronaldo.

Hughes captioned the photo on Instagram:

"Cherry on top there. Great to meet you @cristiano."

This was Hughes' biggest win in his career, and he was over the moon to have the Portuguese maestro ringside watching. The Irishman dropped McKee after landing a huge flying knee as well as dropping a right hook. It goes without saying that his was a thoroughly domineering performance on the night.

Cristiano Ronaldo has previously attended UFC fights

Cristiano Ronaldo is also known to be a huge fan of the UFC and has been seen attending fights in the past alongside the legendary Conor McGregor. Ronaldo has even admitted on his YouTube channel that he prefers MMA to boxing.

On the playing front, Ronaldo's club Al Nassr are in the third position of the Saudi Pro League table at the moment. They picked up a 2-1 victory over Al Shabab on October 18 on their return after the international break. Ronaldo, interestingly, scored the winner for his side via a penalty in the 97th minute and gave them all three points.

In the seven matches he has started this season, Ronaldo has found the back of the net on six occasions. He also has two assists to go with his goals. The 39-year-old will be keen on Al Nassr challenging for the league title this season after they narrowly missed out to Al Hilal in their previous campaign.

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Edited by Sudeshna Banerjee
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