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.[2][3] 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.[4] 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.[5][6][7][8]
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.[9] 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.[10] However he would later lose to Norman Parke via unanimous decision in episode ten.[11]
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.[12]
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[13]
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.[citation needed]
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.[14]
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.[17]
After picking up a win over Amaury Junion 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.[18]
Professional Fighters League
Loughnane made his PFL debut against Matt Wagy on October 7, 2019, at PFL 7, winning the bout via unanimous decision.[19]
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.[20]
2021 Season
Loughnane faced Sheymon Moraes on April 23, 2021, at PFL 1.[21] He won the bout via KO in the first round, picking up his first stoppage victory in PFL.[22]
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.[23]
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.[25]
Loughnane was initially scheduled to face Boston Salmon on June 24, 2022, at PFL 5, however Salmon was forced to pull out due to unknown reasons and was replaced by Ago Huskić.[26] He won the bout via unanimous decision and secured a spot in the playoffs for the second year running.[27]
Loughnane faced Chris Wade in the Semifinals of the Featherweight tournament on August 20, 2022, at PFL 9.[28] He won the bout via unanimous decision to advance to the final.[29]
Loughnane faced Bubba Jenkins in the finals of the Featherweight tournament on November 25, 2022, at PFL 10.[30] He won the bout via TKO stoppage in the fourth round to win the $1 million collective tournament pool.[31]
2023 Season
Loughnane started the 2023 season against Marlon Moraes on April 1, 2023, at PFL 1.[32] He won the bout in the second round, after a barrage of leg kicks left Moraes unable to continue to fight.[33]
Loughnane faced Jesus Pinedo on June 8, 2023, at PFL 4.[34] He lost the fight via knockout early into the first round, the first stoppage of his MMA career.[35]
