Brendan Loughnane

Brendan Loughnane (born December 5, 1989) is a British professional mixed martial artist. He competes in the Featherweight division of the Professional Fighters League (PFL). Loughnane has been a professional competitor since 2010, and competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Absolute Championship Akhmat (ACB) and BAMMA.

Background Born in Manchester, England, and growing up in Withington, Brendan attended The Barlow RC High School in Didsbury as an energetic, athletic, and football-loving teenager. Loughnane grew up around sports, having played football at a junior level for Stockport County F.C. He also lived close to Jesse Lingard and would occasionally go to his house to play football. One of his neighbors introduced him to mixed martial arts (MMA) and took him to the gym for training. Brendan quickly fell in love with the sport and, after only three months of training, he had his first amateur fight at the age of 18. He was thrilled to earn £150 for the fight and celebrated with his friends at a local casino. Brendan went on to win his first five amateur fights before turning professional in 2010. Although he had recently completed a BTEC in mechanical engineering at North Trafford College, he decided to pursue a career in MMA. In order to train, Brendan used a football cage at Platt Fields Park in Fallowfield as a makeshift gym, which attracted the attention of those passing by.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career Loughnane made his amateur debut in 2008 where he went 5–0 with 4 first round finishes, before making his professional debut in June 2010 at X-Treme Kombat with a second round knockout win over Jordan Desborough. He then amassed a record of 6–0 in various regional promotions before going on The Ultimate Fighter.

The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes Loughnane appeared on The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes in 2012 joining Team UK in the lightweight bracket after replacing Michael Pastou who suffered an injury in episode two which left him unable to compete. Loughnane started the tournament off well with a unanimous decision victory over Patrick Iodice. However he would later lose to Norman Parke via unanimous decision in episode ten.

Loughnane lost to Mike Wilkinson by unanimous decision on 15 December 2012 at UFC on FX: Sotiropoulos vs. Pearson ultimately missing out on the opportunity to win a UFC contract.

Post TUF Smashes In 2013 Loughnane joined Full Contact Contender (FCC) where he became the FCC Lightweight Champion after defeating Jason Cooledge via unanimous decision shortly later. He defended the title once with a win over Ali Maclean.

In 2014 Loughnane signed with BAMMA where he competed at Featherweight. After going 2–0 in the promotion Loughnane faced Tom Duquesnoy for the BAMMA Featherweight Championship where he lost via a controversial split decision

He returned in 2016 and reclaimed the FCC Lightweight title with a knockout win over David Lee, making him a two-time champion and would go on to collect two stoppage victories under the Tanko FC banner against Eden Newton and Paul Cook.

Loughnane signed with Absolute Championship Akhmat and made his debut on 11 March 2017 at ACB 53 with a knockout win over Mike Wilkinson whom he had previously lost to on his UFC debut. This fight earned him Knockout of the Night.

Loughnane faced Pat Healy on July 22, 2017, at ACB 65: Silva vs. Agnaev. He lost the back-and-forth fight via split decision.

Loughnane faced Paata Tsxapelia on November 25, 2017, at ACB 75: Gadzhidaudov vs. Zieliński, winning the bout via head kick knockout in the third round.

After picking up a win over Amaury Junior at Celtic Gladiator 22, stopping him with leg kicks in the second round, he was invited to Dana White's Contender Series 17, where despite beating Bill Algeo via unanimous decision, he was not given a contract due to Dana White being upset that he went for a takedown in the last minute of a bout he was dominating.

Professional Fighters League

Loughnane made his PFL debut against Matt Wagy on October 7, 2019, at PFL 7, winning the bout via unanimous decision.

In his sophomore performance, Loughnane would face David Valente on December 31, 2019, at PFL 10, picking up his second straight unanimous decision victory under the PFL banner.

2021 Season Loughnane faced Sheymon Moraes on April 23, 2021, at PFL 1. He won the bout via KO in the first round, picking up his first stoppage victory in PFL.

Returning at PFL 4 on June 10, 2021, Loughnane had a hard-fought close bout with Tyler Diamond, winning the bout via majority decision and securing a spot in the PFL playoffs.

In the semi-finals of the 2021 Featherweight tournament, Loughnane faced Movlid Khaybulaev at PFL 9 on August 27, 2021, losing a close bout via split decision.

2022 Season Returning for another season, Loughnane faced Ryoji Kudo on February 21, 2022, at PFL 2, winning the bout via technical unanimous decision after an accidental clash of heads opened a cut on Kudo and rendered him unable to continue.

Loughnane was initially scheduled to face Boston Salmon on June 24, 2022, at PFL 5, however Salmon was forced to pull out for unknown reasons and was replaced by Ago Huskić. He won the bout via unanimous decision and secured a spot in the playoffs for the second year running.

Loughnane faced Chris Wade in the Semifinals of the Featherweight tournament on August 20, 2022, at PFL 9. He won the bout via unanimous decision to advance to the final.

Loughnane faced Bubba Jenkins in the finals of the Featherweight tournament on November 25, 2022, at PFL 10. He won the bout via TKO stoppage in the fourth round to win the $1 million collective tournament pool.

2023 Season Loughnane started the 2023 season against Marlon Moraes on April 1, 2023, at PFL 1. He won the bout in the second round, after a barrage of leg kicks left Moraes unable to continue to fight.

Loughnane faced Jesus Pinedo on June 8, 2023, at PFL 4. He lost the fight via knockout early into the first round, the first stoppage of his MMA career.

2024 Season Loughnane faced Pedro Carvalho on April 19, 2024 at PFL 3 (2024). He won the fight via TKO in the first round.

Loughnane next faced Justin Gonzales at PFL 6 (2024) on June 28, 2024. He won the fight via TKO due to a doctor stoppage due to a cut in round 2.

Loughnane faced Kai Kamaka III in the semifinals of the 2024 Featherweight tournament on August 23, 2024 at PFL 9. He won the fight by split decision.

In the final, Loughnane faced Timur Khizriev on November 29, 2024, at PFL 10. He lost the fight by unanimous decision.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts Professional Fighters League 2022 PFL Featherweight Championship Full Contact Contender FCC Lightweight Championship (One time) Three successful title defenses Celtic Gladiator Interim CG Featherweight Championship MMA Fighting 2022 Second Team MMA All-Star

Mixed martial arts record Loss

Timur Khizriev Decision (unanimous) PFL 10 (2024)

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Win

Kai Kamaka III Decision (split) PFL 9 (2024)

Washington, D.C., United States Win

Justin Gonzales TKO (doctor stoppage) PFL 6 (2024)

Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States Win

Pedro Carvalho TKO (punches) PFL 3 (2024)

Chicago, Illinois, United States Loss

Jesus Pinedo KO (knee and punches) PFL 4 (2023)

Atlanta, Georgia, United States Win

Marlon Moraes TKO (leg kicks) PFL 1 (2023)

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Bubba Jenkins TKO (punches) PFL 10 (2022)

New York City, New York, United States Win

Chris Wade Decision (unanimous) PFL 9 (2022)

London, England Win

Ago Huskić Decision (unanimous) PFL 5 (2022)

Atlanta, Georgia, United States Win

Ryoji Kudo Technical Decision (unanimous) PFL 2 (2022)

Arlington, Texas, United States Loss

Movlid Khaybulaev Decision (split) PFL 9 (2021)

Hollywood, Florida, United States Win

Tyler Diamond Decision (majority) PFL 4 (2021)

Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States Win

Sheymon Moraes KO (punches) PFL 1 (2021)

Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States Win

David Valente Decision (unanimous) PFL 10 (2019)

New York City, New York, United States Win

Matt Wagy Decision (unanimous) PFL 7 (2019)

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Bill Algeo Decision (unanimous) Dana White's Contender Series 17

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Amaury Junior KO (leg kicks) Celtic Gladiator 22

Manchester, England Win

Paata Tsxapelia KO (head kick) ACB 75

Stuttgart, Germany Loss

Pat Healy Decision (split) ACB 65

Sheffield, England Win

Mike Wilkinson KO (knee) ACB 54

Manchester, England Win

Paul Cook TKO (punches) Tankō FC 2

Manchester, England Win

Eden Newton TKO (elbows) Tankō FC 1

Manchester, England Win

David Lee KO (punches) Full Contact Contender 15

Bolton, England Loss

Tom Duquesnoy Decision (split) BAMMA 22

Dublin, Ireland Win

Steve Polifonte Decision (unanimous) BAMMA 19

Blackpool, England Win

Florian Rousseau TKO (punches) BAMMA 17

Manchester, England Win

Ali Maclean TKO (punches) Full Contact Contender 11

Bolton, England Win

Jason Cooledge Decision (unanimous) Full Contact Contender 9

Bolton, England Win

Tim Close Decision (unanimous) Full Contact Contender 7

Bolton, England Loss

Mike Wilkinson Decision (unanimous) UFC on FX: Sotiropoulos vs. Pearson

Gold Coast, Australia Win

Danny Welsh Submission (rear-naked choke) UCC 11

Manchester, England Win

Jordan Miller Decision (unanimous) UFA 1

Knutsford, England Win

Dave Straughton TKO (submission to punches) Cage Conflict 8

Blackburn, England Win

Shaun Law TKO (corner stoppage) UCC 3

Blackpool, England Win

Manos Skoulas TKO (punches) Greece Regional Show

Malia, Greece Win

Jordan Desborough TKO (punches) X-Treme Kombat 2

Ulverston, England