English featherweight star Brendan Loughnane’s path to the world stage took him on a long and winding road that eventually led him to the PFL, and if his comments ahead of his semi-final bout this weekend are anything to go by, he couldn’t be happier with how it’s all panned out.
Loughnane built an impressive resume on the European scene before getting a shot at the UFC via Dana White’s Contender Series. What happened that night has already gone down in history, with White opting to pass on Loughnane, despite his strong performance in victory over Bill Algeo, who has gone on to become a UFC mainstay.
White’s snub left Loughnane looking at other options and, after joining the PFL during its early development, he went on to become one of their biggest stars.
The Mancunian captured the 2022 PFL featherweight championship after running the table with victories over the likes of Chris Wade and Bubba Jenkins as he became the third UK fighter to capture a major MMA world title, after Liam McGeary (Bellator) and Michael Bisping (UFC).
Now a seasoned veteran of the PFL and one of the promotion’s top athletes, Loughnane stands on the verge of another PFL global season final, and faces former Bellator vet Kai Kamaka III in the featherweight semi-finals in Washington DC on Friday night.
And, speaking ahead of his matchup, Loughnane took the time to extoll the virtues of being a PFL fighter, as he praised the organisation for giving him the platform his skills deserve, and making good on the promises they made him when they approached him to join their roster back in 2021.
“I joined this company five years ago. None of you people were even here. I was the origins of the company, and I’ve watched it grow,” he explained.
“Francis (Ngannou) and Jake (Paul) and everyone. Myself, Kayla (Harrison) has now moved on to do great things, Dakota (Ditcheva), you name it. It’s a great time to be a PFL fighter, and I’m proud of the company. Man, well done. Well done, PFL.”
England's Brendan Loughnane (@BrendanMMA) took a long and winding road to make it to @PFLMMA, but he's happy with how things have panned out. He fights for a spot in the 2024 featherweight final tonight at the #PFLPlayoffs in Washington DC. pic.twitter.com/P9jG3P6hyr
— Simon Head (@simonheadsport) August 23, 2024
Loughnane also revealed that the PFL’s top brass, including PFL CEO Peter Murray, had made a number of promises to him when he signed for the promotion, and they’ve delivered on everything they told him.
“They’ve done exactly what they said they were going to do when I joined the company,” he stated.
“‘We’re going to do this, this, this, and this,’ they said. And, guess what? Pete did this, this, this, and this. So respect.
“I just say, listen, I’ll tell you, from personal experience, this company changed my life, changed my family’s life – that’s all I can tell you. From that perspective, they give me regular competition, world-class competition. They put me on ESPN. What else do you want, really, as a fighter?
“You want regular paydays. You want to fight the best – they’re putting the best they can in front of me. You want to be on ESPN, the main platform. You want to be on in front of the right eyes. You want the main media from the world of MMA here, they’re here. So, everything’s in place.”
