Brendan Loughnane will almost certainly go into the 2024 PFL season with redemption in mind.
The 2022 PFL Season $1 Million Winner is off to a great start in 2023 as he looks to defend his title. However, he was eliminated in the first round by eventual champion Jesus Pinedo in 2023, missing out on the postseason due to a minor blunder.
On Friday, Loughnane (27-5) will face former Bellator standout Pedro Carvalho (13-8) to open the 2024 PFL featherweight season at Chicago’s Wintrust Arena. With Pinedo not participating in the 2024 season, there is plenty of room for a new winner, including a Bellator crossover fighter.
“It’s really nice to have fresh faces here, big names and fresh competition,” Locknane told MMA Junkie Radio. “That’s all I care about right now. The fact that they used to be from Bellator, the fact that some of them (who won against Sheymon Moraes and Tyler Diamond in my past) are from the UFC, But I don’t say, “Oh, I beat three UFC fighters.” . ” that’s reality. They are now in PFL. It’s at my house, so let’s take a look. ”
Loughnane undergoes a rigorous test on paper. In November 2020, Carvalho won his sixth straight Bellator title fight against Patricio Freire, considered the best pound-for-pound fighter in Bellator history.
However, this setback marked the beginning of his current slump of 2 wins and 5 losses. However, Loughnane sees his recent struggles as an indication that he won’t be challenging any weight class below elite featherweight.
“Pedro is a world-class level fighter,” Loughnane said. “He comes from a great gym (at SBG Ireland). John Kavanagh is one of the best coaches in the world. They will have a solid game plan. John knows me very well. So I know they’re going to come prepared. I’m ready, let’s have a beer after the game. It’s just one of those nights at the office.”
Loughnane will be aiming for points in the regular season. Upon finishing the first round he will be awarded 6 points. A decision win would be worth 3 points.
In 2023, he lost the second game of the regular season, leaving him only five points behind Marlon Moraes, who won the second round. If he had finished in the first round, he would have earned six points and would have been able to advance.
He believes he let Moraes slip away in the first round of that fight, and the lesson is that the extra points in the PFL’s system ended up being costly.
“I actually lost by TKO in the second round, that was the problem,” Loughnane said. “I was able to get Marlon sent off in the first game, and I learned that you can’t just leave people alone just because you’re eliminated in the semifinals. Even though we lost (the second game), , with 6 points and 1 win and 1 loss, they might have still made it to the semifinals.
“This is a different entity. But this year we have a 70 percent new roster. Let’s see how the players are coping in September. You’re on your third weight cut, but others… I have some bumps and bruises from those two games.”
For more information on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s PFL 2024 Week 3 event hub.
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