'My dream has come true' - Paul Hughes on fairytale homecoming
Paul Hughes was overcome with emotion after fulfilling his boyhood dream at Belfast's SSE Arena on Saturday evening.
Main eventing a massive card in his home country, Hughes made light work of the monumental pressure on his shoulders by stopping dangerous Brazillian Bruno Miranda inside 42 seconds.
The usually stoic Hughes, who often speaks of being present and staying calm in the moment, couldn't contain himself as he hopped onto the cage, roaring to the crowd before sobbing tears of joy as thousands around went into bedlam.
30 minutes or so after the bout, Hughes spoke to the media backstage. Again, he put on a brave face, but when asked about how special it feels to have everyone rooting for him and pulling in the same direction, Hughes, who had his Irish identity questioned by Conor McGregor earlier this year, broke down again.
After a full minute of taking deep breaths to compose himself, Hughes said: "Dreams can come true, dreams can come true," before trailing off again.
When he managed to compose himself, he said "Absolutely (the support helps). My dreams came true tonight."
Earlier this week, Hughes said moments like this homecoming were more important than belts. Elaborating on that, he said: "Belts come and go. Moments like that last forever."
As for what's next, Hughes made it clear in his post-fight interview with Dan Hardy that there is only one fight he has on his mind:
"Usman Nurmagomedov," he roared into the microphone before saying, "He can run, he can hide, but his day is coming."
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