Brendan Loughnane is surprised he’s still ‘hungry’ for MMA success after becoming a champion and millionaire last year.
The 27-4 fighter knocked out Bubba Jenkins to win the Professional Fighters League [PFL] featherweight title and the promotion’s mammoth seven-figure prize in November at New York’s iconic Madison Square Garden.
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For Loughnane, his title win completed a long journey to the top of the sport which wasn’t always easy as he was infamously rejected by UFC president Dana White.
The 33-year-old fought for MMA’s premier promotion once in 2012 after a stint on contestant show The Ultimate Fighter before being released and spending the next seven years trying to get another shot.
In 2019, he was given a chance to prove himself on the Contender Series and seemed to do enough to secure a UFC contract as he easily beat Bill Algeo who has since been signed to the company.
However, White blasted Loughnane for shooting for a takedown in the final seconds of the fight, refused to sign him, and implored other promotions to prove him wrong by making a star out of the Manchester man.
That’s exactly what PFL did and, three years later, Loughnane became their featherweight champion and won a life-changing amount of money that has surprisingly made him even more hungry.
Before $1 million hit his bank account, Loughnane admitted he was not sure if he’d want to fight again after becoming a rich man but has now revealed it’s actually made him determined to achieve even more in the sport.
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He told talkSPORT: “It made me double hungry. I thought I would get the money and the belts and just be happy in the sunset, but it made me even more hungry.
“Yeah, two-time champion sounds good to me and that’s what I want to cement my legacy as.
“I’ve bought myself a nice little apartment in Dubai, a couple of nice bits and bobs, treated my mum and that. Yeah, these cheques are coming in thick and fast, so I can’t ask for them quick enough.”
Loughnane recently got his 2023 PFL season off to the perfect start by stopping former UFC title challenger Marlon Moraes inside two rounds.
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Now, he’s determined to reach the final again and get a rematch with Movlid Khaybulaev who beat him by split decision when they met in the 2021 PFL semi-final.
Loughnane added: “Everyone knows who I want to fight. I want that rematch with Movlid. I want it in the final, I want it over five rounds, and I want to get that win back.
“That’s my last loss. In my last 11 fights, he’s the only loss. I went into that fight heavily compromised, and I’ll be looking forward to beating him this year.”
Khaybulaev did not compete in last year’s PFL tournament but returned to MMA with a unanimous decision win earlier this month in a fight the champion described as ‘boring’.
Loughnane will compete again on June 8 but it’s currently unclear who he will fight, although it can be narrowed down to one of the nine other athletes on this season’s featherweight roster.
