PFL’s Brendan Loughnane Gunning For Movlid Khaybulaev Rematch: ‘I’ll Be Here Waiting for Him’

This season will be Brendan Loughnane’s year in the Professional Fighters League, according to the British athlete. Loughnane (21-4, 4-1 PFL) fell short of securing a place in last year’s 145-pound final after conceding a split-decision loss to Movlid Khaybulaev, who subsequently won the whole tournament and the $1 million prize. The 32-year-old makes no excuses for that defeat as he admitted that the Russian fighter was the better man that night. After checking the new names in the PFL 2022 Regular Season, the Manchester-born is sure that his moment to shine has finally come.

“I lost that fight, come on,” he said while talking with Sherdog. “I’m a realist. I’m not one of these that’s gonna sit here and make excuses. This guy was better than me that night. He’s a great fighter and all, undefeated, a tough match-up. I always knew it was going to be a tough match-up. He’s not in it this year, the champ. He’s got an injury so he’s out. I looked up and down this year, and I really think it’s mine. I mean, I looked up and down this roster and I’m like, ‘Yeah, I feel comfortable with it.’”

Khaybulaev won’t be part of this year’s tournament as he got injured and won’t be able to fight for a spot in the upcoming playoffs. When asked, Loughnane said that he would be pushing for a rematch with his former opponent even if it means that it won’t go down before next year.

“I’m staying with PFL, and when he comes back, I’ll be here waiting for him. Then, we can fight for the undisputed [title],” he added.

Loughnane will return to action as he will lock horns with Ryoji Kudo at 2022 PFL 2 on April 28 (9 p.m. ET ESPN2/ESPN+). In the interview, the British fighter also discussed his training camp, shared his thoughts on Tyson Fury and the latter’s hypothetical fight with Francis Ngannou, teased that he’s in talks for a hybrid match and more.

Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro
(00:41) Exploring Arlington, Texas, to spend his time before the fight
(01:36) Training in Thailand
(02:34) Tiger Muay Thai Gym’s surge in popularity
(03:25) His corner
(03:34) Commenting on his loss to Khaybulaev
(04:18) His takeaway from that fight
(04:41) Aiming for a rematch with Khaybulaev next year
(05:04) His thoughts on Tyson Fury, Fury’s retirement and hypothetical fight with Francis Ngannou
(05:54) Hinting that he was offered a custom rules fight
(06:32) Walking out to “Time” by Chase & Status
(06:45) Outro

Tudor Leonte started writing about mixed martial arts in 2013 for Italian media outlets. His journey with Sherdog began in 2018 and now he covers One Championship and countless European shows. You can follow him on Twitter @MrTudorLeonte.