The MMA gods did not reward Darragh Kelly for replacing countryman Paul Hughes in his PFL Belfast main event Thursday against , with the Irishman suffering a left-hook knockout in the opening exchanges of the bout.

After stunning the SSE Arena into silence, Wilson called for a showdown with the recent challenger to Usman Nurmagomedov’s lightweight crown, Alfie Davis. 

“There’s a little Alf in this division who needs a beating,” said Wilson. “So, Alfie Davis, I’m coming for you June in San Diego — lets do it!” 

Although it was a left hook that dispatched Kelly 37 seconds into the contest, Dan Hardy heaped praise on the left body kick Wilson landed before going upstairs and landing the final punch. 

“One of my friends, his name is Said, and I call that ‘the Said kick’. He just fought last week, and he broke a guy’s ribs with the same kick,” Wilson told Hardy after the contest. 

“I landed [the kick], and then I stepped back and caught him.” 

No stranger to big nights in Belfast, UFC veteran Rhys McKee scored a routine win over Alex Lohoré in the co-main event, finishing out a stellar 3-0 night for Belfast’s Fight Academy Ireland gym. 

Although Lohoré started the encounter in command, landing well-placed calf kicks on the Ballymena man’s lead leg, McKee grew into the contest and scored a big knockdown at the beginning of the third round. An exhausted Lohoré looked to bring the contest to the canvas for the remainder of the round, with McKee breaking free and landing another big shot just before the contest ended. 

“Alex played his part, but listen, he was never going to get it done,” McKee told Dan Hardy in the cage after the contest. “No offense, that was the punch [he] was waiting for all those f***ing years!” 

Tyson Pedro nearly had a fairytale return after putting former PFL champion Dovlet Yagshimuradov on skates in the final round of the main-card opener. Dovlet had to hang on for dear life as he was peppered with shots before landing a takedown that allowed him to hear the final bell. 

The rally came too late for the UFC veteran, who was competing in mixed martial arts for the first time since his retirement in March 2024, as Yagshimuradov’s measured performance won him the nod on all three judges’ scorecards.

The undercard boasted a number of notable performances. 

UFC veteran Caolan Loughran drew some of the biggest cheers of the night after submitting regional rival Alan Philpott after an intense war of words in the build-up to their featherweight fight. 

Loughran’s fellow former Cage Warriors alum, Omran Chaaban, recorded a second-round submission in his promotional debut debut against Chequina Noso Pedro.

While Irish eyes were smiling for the most part with big wins for SBG Belfast via Eoin Sheridan and Pedro Carvalho, as well as a debut win for Fight Academy Ireland’s Masoliver, the most shocking knockout of the night saw 37-year-old Dean Garnett stop previously undefeated Ciaran Clarke. 

Clarke went into the contest 10-0 but tasted defeat for the first time after eating a picture-perfect spinning elbow from the Liverpudlian stalwart. 

Main card

• Jay Jay Wilson def. Darragh Kelly via KO (left hook) at 0:37 of R1

• Rhys McKee def. Alex Lohoré via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

• Dovletdzhan Yagshimuradov def. Tyson Pedro via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Preliminary card

• Eoin Sheridan def. Chris Mixan via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

• Caolan Loughran def. Alan Philpott via submission (crank) at 1:11 of R1

• Omran Chaaban def. Chequina Noso Pedro via TKO (knee and punches) at 4:16 of R2

• Dean Garnett def. Ciaran Clarke via KO (spinning elbow and punches) at 1:52 of R1

• Pedro Carvalho def. Sergio Cossio via unanimous decision 29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

• David Martinez def. Giannis Bachar via submission (rear-naked choke) at 0:53 of R2

• Sean Gauci def. Liam Gittins via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27)

• Eoghan Masoliver def. Shane Mullen via submission (rear-naked choke) at 1:55 of R1

• Chelsea Hackett def. Andrea Vazquez via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)