An injury can be devastating for a fighter. But it’s even worse when the injury comes right before a fight. That’s the story of former Cage Warriors featherweight champion Paul Hughes, who had a truly tough 2025. After suffering two losses to Usman Nurmagomedov with the PFL lightweight title on the line, he was set to return against Jay-Jay Wilson in the main event of PFL Belfast in April this year. 

However, the Irishman announced on Instagram that he had suffered a knee injury in March, forcing him to pull out of the bout. In his video, the 29-year-old revealed that he will have to undergo surgery to repair the damage. He didn’t provide a recovery schedule or a return date at the time. Now, however, Hughes has revealed that he has undergone a second surgery while issuing a health update. 

“Second surgery complete ✅ (I feel better than I look 😂),” he wrote on Instagram, sharing a picture of himself from a hospital bed. “Kept this one close to my chest. It has been a crazy run in the past 2 years. I went from scraping by to pay my rent to signing with PFL and having 6 fights in 18 months. 2 of them being World Title fights.

“The truth is my body broke down [towards] the end of last year. My mental strength pushed me to try to do the impossible. I got close. Not a single regret. I then did everything possible to rehab at the beginning of this year to make the Belfast card. Unfortunately, my body had reached [its] limit, and surgeries became the last remaining option to continue my career.”

It’s currently unclear what exactly happened to Hughes’ knee. However, the most common knee injuries among fighters include ACL tears, MCL/LCL damage, meniscus tears, and patella injuries. While most knee injuries don’t end a fighter’s career, they certainly can, depending on the severity of the damage. Fighters rely heavily on their knees during competition.

That includes explosive takedowns and wrestling, pivoting, checking kicks, footwork, and generating power for punches and kicks. In Hughes’ case, all that is known is that he suffered the injury while training for his fight against Jay-Jay Wilson. While he hasn’t revealed which hospital performed the surgeries, it’s believed they took place at a medical facility in Ireland.

But the good news is that Hughes has even shared a return timeline. 

“This may sound sad, but trust me, I am feeling the total opposite,” he added. “When I return in early 2027, I will be entering my prime MMA years with no limitations. How EXCITING it is knowing that I have gotten to this level without coming remotely close to my athletic potential. The world is truly at my feet. 

“I’ve said it before, and I will say it again: I am going to be the undisputed Number 1 Lightweight on the planet. Zero doubts. The rebuild continues. We are documenting this journey over on my YouTube, where we just added another episode going into more depth on this all. From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank everyone who has supported me [so] far in my career. All the way to the top☘️”

While Hughes prepares to make his return, his comeback timeline suggests there’s plenty to recover from. 

PFL reacts to Paul Hughes’ health update

Despite the lack of details of his injury, treatment for the most common knee injuries, like ACL reconstruction or meniscus repair, takes six to twelve months to recover with rehab. The recovery period also depends on the fighter’s age, which appears to be working in Hughes’ favor. However, even after recovery, the dangers of a knee injury don’t go away completely.  

A real-world example would be Shavkat Rakhmonov, who went into his last fight against Ian Machado Garry with an injury. Despite winning, his injury got worse during the fight, and he needed surgery afterward. He later suffered a re-injury to the same knee, which required a second surgery in January this year. Hopefully, though, Paul Hughes won’t face such issues. 

After he shared an update about his health on Instagram, PFL’s official account reacted to the post, writing, “❤️.” 

While he remained on the sidelines, Jay-Jay Wilson faced Darragh Kelly in the PFL Belfast main event. And secured a first-round knockout win. When Hughes returns, he will have unfinished business with Wilson.