Brendan Loughnane
#PFLPlayoffs I’m going for my second PFL World Title!#PFLRegularSeason
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— PFL (@PFLMMA)
June 29, 2024
Brendan Loughnane has already qualified for the Professional Fighters League featherweight playoffs to compete on the 2024 PFL regular season six card, but that didn’t stop him from putting on an impressive performance in his bout against Justin Gonzalez.
Strikingly, Loughnane (28-5) had a clear advantage from the start, getting the distance and regularly pummeling Gonzalez (14-5). Gonzalez was in control of the bout when he received a knee to the head in the second round, causing a severe cut on his forehead. The bout was stopped at 3 minutes, 34 seconds into the second round after a doctor examined the laceration.
Loughnane is the number one seed in the featherweight playoffs and will face Kai Kamaka.
Welterweight semifinals officially confirmed for Washington DC#PFLPlayoffs
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— PFL (@PFLMMA)
June 29, 2024
Story wins against Pokrit
The final welterweight bout of the night saw Logan Story take on Luka Pokrit in the co-main event. Pokrit (10-1) quickly took down Story (15-3), but neither man was able to finish him, ending any hopes of a playoff spot after the first five minutes. The American was more successful in the second round, keeping his opponent on the ground and gaining the upper hand. Pokrit threatened with a bulldog choke in the final round, but it was Story who had the energy left.
After 15 minutes of play, the judges declared Story the winner by scores of 30-27, 29-28, 29-28.
Umalatov retires from ward
Brennan Ward needed an early win against Magomed Umalatov to reach the PFL playoffs, and he came into the bout with momentum.
Despite Ward (17-9) landing heavy punches, the unbeaten Umalatov (16-0) was able to land a takedown and take the fight to the ground. Once on the floor, the Russian applied an anaconda choke, which was sufficient to force Ward to tap at 3:43 of the first round.
The win put the unbeaten welterweight in a nine-point playoff to face Don Mudge, while Ward hung up his gloves and retired after the loss.
Overweight Bulaga beats injured Jenkins
Gabriel Bulaga came into his fight against Bubba Jenkins weighing about five pounds more, but still managed to beat the wrestler.
Jenkins (21-9) quickly used his grappling advantage to take the Brazilian down in the first round, but Bulaga (14-1) came on the offensive in the second and Jenkins appeared to injure his elbow during a takedown attempt in the second frame, before Bulaga took advantage and landed a flurry of punches to secure the TKO victory.
Bulaga earned five points for the finish and advanced to the featherweight playoffs with 11 points, where he will face Timur Khizriyev.
2024 PFL 6 Preliminary Results:
In the featured prelims, Lorenz Larkin defeated Alan Dominguez with punches and a knee to the body, winning by TKO at 4:46 of the first round. Shamil Musaev knocked out Murad Ramazanov with a beautiful left hook at 1:41 of the second round to earn a spot in the welterweight playoff where the two will meet again in the semifinals. Kai Kamaka III dominated Pedro Carvalho, winning by unanimous decision with scores of 30-27, 29-28, 29-28. Andrey Koreshkov defeated Goyti Yamauchi by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-27, 29-27) after a 15-minute bout. Timur Khizriyev outplayed the much-discounted Enrique Barzola by 30-27 on the scorecards. Neiman Gracie stopped Don Mudge on the ground in the third round to win a unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27), and Tyler Diamond defeated Brett Johns in the first round, 29-28 in the third round, to win a unanimous decision.
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