Top 5: Fighters on the rise at PFL Belfast

Darragh Kelly filled the void left by compatriot Paul Hughes and did so with a smile on his face.

The undefeated SBG Ireland standout will put his perfect 9-0 record on the line as a late-notice substitution for the Professional Fighters League when he takes Hughes’ place at the top of the ticket and squares off with Jay-Jay Wilson in the PFL Belfast main event on Thursday at the SSE Arena in Northern Ireland. Kelly, 28, boasts seven finishes among his nine career victories. He last saw action at PFL Europe 3, where he dispatched Bakhtiyar Abdulloev with a rear-naked choke in the first round of their Sept. 26 pairing. Kelly trains under John Kavanagh, the same man who oversaw Conor McGregor’s rise to power in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Wilson, meanwhile, enters the cage with high hopes of his own. The 28-year-old New Zealand native has rattled off three wins across his past four appearances, a decision loss to the unbeaten Archie Colgan at PFL Champions Series 3 in October his only misstep. Wilson has secured eight of his 11 professional victories by knockout, technical knockout or submission, five of them inside one round.

The 12-fight lineup at PFL Belfast features several fighters on the rise, with Kelly and Wilson at or near the front of the line. Three others to monitor:

Eoin Sheridan

Welterweight | 4-0 (2-0 PFL)
Sheridan carries a fair amount of hype. The 6-foot-5 SBG Ireland rep returns to the PFL stage for the first time in nearly a year when he locks horns with Chris Mixan in a three-round welterweight prelim. Sheridan, 31, last competed on Oct. 18, when he took care of Felipe da Silva Maia with a first-round rear-naked choke under the Academy Fighters Championship banner. “The Sheriff” spars regularly with the aforementioned McGregor. Mixan figures to provide his sternest test to date. The 27-year-old Floridian steps onto the battlefield on the heels of back-to-back victories over Joey Hart and Kendly St. Louis.

A high-stakes lightweight clash headlines PFL Belfast: Tune in Thursday, April 16 at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2.

Ciaran Clarke

Bantamweight | 10-0 (0-0 PFL)
Perhaps absence made the heart grow fonder in Clarke’s case. The undefeated Irishman closes the book on a 579-day period of inactivity and draws his draws his first assignment in the PFL when he confronts former Hexagone MMA champion Dean Garnett at 135 pounds as part of the undercard. Clarke has not fought since he outpointed Tuomas Gronvall to a unanimous decision at a Bellator MMA show on Sept. 14, 2024. Fully recovered from the knee injury that sidelined him for more than a year, the Drogheda, Ireland, native has nailed down exactly half (five) of his 10 career victories by submission. Garnett, 37, now stands in his path. The Team McHale export finds himself on the rebound following a 44-second technical knockout loss to Baris Adiguzel at PFL Lyon on Dec. 13.

Omran Chaaban

Welterweight | 9-1 (0-0 PFL)
Chaaban could do no more on the regional scenes in Europe in the Middle East. The Team KF Martial Arts prospect makes his anticipated promotional debut when he toes the line against Chequina Noso Pedro in a three-round welterweight prelim. Chaaban, 25, last suited up on July 23, when he needed just 46 seconds to cast aside Wellington Madeira with leg kicks at a UAE Warriors event. It was his fourth first-round finish as a pro. In Pedro, he faces a Brave Combat Federation alum who operates out of the BA Army camp in Holland. The 32-year-old Angolan last strapped on the gloves at PFL Europe 2, where he was awarded a unanimous verdict over Khamzat Abaev on July 5.