There may not be a championship belt attached to the fight between AJ McKee and Paul Hughes at Battle Of The Giants but it deserves to be on that stage.
This particular fight may be slipping under the radar to some degree next to the likes of Francis Ngannou and Cris Cyborg but it is truly one of the most exciting match-ups that the PFL could have possibly put together.
It came as a surprise too given that Hughes will be making a big step up here to take on by far the biggest challenge of his career to date.
The 27-year old Irishman has been calling for a higher level of opposition and on Saturday night in Riyadh, he will jump up several levels when facing McKee.
Despite the clear differences in the level they have competed at previously, Hughes is confident that he will make a statement on October 19.
"Look, I'm a finisher at heart. I've got that killer instinct, I think I've proved that throughout my career." Hughes said at the press conference. "I've got knockouts with both hands, I've got knockouts with elbows, knockouts with knees and knockouts with head kicks so I'm prepared for anything. AJ, a fantastic fighter, ultimate respect, but he has not faced anybody like me. He has not faced a young lion, someone who, he's over there with his gold chain and designer glasses, and fair play to him he's worked hard for that money, I ain't got that yet. I'm young, I'm hungry and I foresee a knockout on Saturday night."
At 22-1, McKee has rebounded from the one and only loss of his career to Patricio Pitbull in 2022 by winning four in a row.
Though he ultimately has his sights set on becoming a world champion once again, he also knows that he can't underestimate an opponent like Hughes who has so much to gain from winning this fight.
"I take nothing but respect and give him respect but I've been in his shoes, I've been hungry, I've been 12-1, well, 12-0 but same thing. I've been in that position, I've been through hell and back in this life man, in this fight game, so when it comes to Saturday night, I don't see him standing in my way. I'm going to go in there and do what I'm capable of doing, I'm not focused on anything he's going to do. I'm going to just go in there and do what the mercenary does. Kick ass, take names and go home."
The differences in their careers, with Hughes seemingly still several steps behind McKee's trajectory despite clearly being on the right path, is reflected in the odds.
Being the underdog for this match-up isn't something that bothers "Big News", neither does people picking against him in this fight.
Hughes believes that contrary to the idea that this fight has come around too early for him, the timing couldn't be any better.
"Yeah absolutely, I mean, it doesn't upset me, I see where people are coming from you know. You put my record alongside AJ's and the opponents that we've faced, the amount of wins that he has, on paper, I am a huge underdog coming into this fight but that's what makes it so much more exciting for me. But one thing I would say to the people that say it's too much too soon is the people that say that are the people who don't actually know my career and what I've been through to get to this position. This right now is divine timing for me. This right now is exactly where I'm supposed to be. To take this guy out of there on Saturday night jumps me two, three steps ahead of this game and that's unbelievably exciting."
Watch the full press conference via PFL's YouTube channel by clicking right here.
