Hughes vs Baal

Who won Hughes vs Baal?

Connor Hughes beat Anatolij Baal by knockout in the 1st round during the prelims of PFL Europe 1, on Thursday 7th March 2024 at Accor Arena in Paris.

The fight was scheduled to take place over 3 rounds in the Lightweight division, which meant the weight limit was 155 pounds (11.1 stone or 70.3 KG).

Hughes vs Baal stats

Connor Hughes stepped into the octagon with a record of 8 wins, 1 loss and 0 draws, 3 of those wins coming by the way of knock out and 4 by submission.

Anatolij Baal made his way to the cage with a record of 10 wins, 3 losses and 1 draw, 6 of those wins coming by knock out and 2 by submission.

This was Connor Hughes' 5th fight in the PFL, having made his debut for the promotion in 2023.

Connor Hughes' PFL record stood at 3-2-0, while Anatolij Baal's came in at 1-1-0.

The stats suggested Baal had a large advantage in power over Hughes, boasting a 60% knock out percentage over Hughes' 38%.

If the fight went to the ground, their records suggested Hughes had a large advantage over Baal, boasting a 50% submission rate over Baal's 20%.

Connor Hughes was the younger man by 32 years, at years old.

Hughes was the less experienced professional fighter, having had 5 fewer fights, and made his debut in 2021, 7 years and 3 months later than Baal, whose first professional fight was in 2014. He had fought 4 less professional rounds, 24 to Baal's 28.

Activity check

Hughes' last 2 fights had come over a period of 1 year, 8 months and 5 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 10 months and 3 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 5 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 2.5 rounds on average.

What were the odds on Hughes vs Baal?

Connor Hughes was a 30/100 (-330) favourite going into the contest, while Anatolij Baal made his way into the ring at 5/2 (+250) with oddsmakers.