Brendan Loughnane put on one of the best – if not the best – performance of his career Saturday.
The PFL featherweight put on a striking clinic against veteran Chris Wade in the co-main event of 2022 PFL Playoffs 3 in London. Loughnane (25-4) outpointed Wade (22-8) to win a unanimous decision that read 30-27 across all three judges’ scorecards.
With the win, Loughnane is now set to take on Bubba Jenkins, who submitted Ryoji Kudo earlier, in the 2022 PFL featherweight final expected to go down in November.
Loughnane, who was fighting on home soil, put on an absolute clinic.
In the first round, both fighters started pretty evenly matched. Around the two-minute mark, Wade landed a head kick followed by a takedown. He controlled Loughnane for almost a minute, and then Loughnane was able to get back to his feet. Loughnane stunned Wade with a couple of clean shots before getting pressed against the cage. Loughnane would eventually break away and picked apart Wade with varied shots until the final bell.
The second round was all Loughnane. In an outstanding performance, Loughnane stuffed any takedown attempts thrown his way and pieced up a very tough Wade on the feet. Wade was making Loughnane work, but he had little to offer on the feet. Loughnane looked sharp.
In the final five minutes, the momentum carried over. Wade made the fight a little more complicated for Loughnane, but it was still mainly one-way traffic.
With this win, Loughnane makes the PFL finals for the first time in his career. He had come up short in his first season back in 2021, losing to Movlid Khaybulaev by split decision in the semifinals. The Englishman is 7-1 since joining the PFL in 2019.
Meanwhile, Wade fails to qualify to the finals after being the runner-up last season. Wade is 10-5 since joining the PFL in 2018 following his departure from the UFC. He’s competed in three seasons, with his first being at lightweight and his past two at 145 pounds.
Up-to-the-minute 2022 PFL Playoffs 3 results:
- Brendan Loughnane def. Chris Wade via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) – advances to the featherweight final
- Larissa Pacheco def. Olena Kolesnyk via TKO – Round 1, 2:09 – advances to women’s lightweight final
- Bubba Jenkins def. Ryoji Kudo via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 1:49 – advances to featherweight final
- Dakota Ditcheva def. Hassna Gaber submission (strikes) – Round 1, 0:58
- Simeon Powell def. Nemanja Uveric via TKO (leg kicks) – Round 2, 1:56.
PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 1 p.m. ET)
- Stuart Austin def. Sofiane Boukichou via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 30-27)
- Aleksandrs Chizhovs def. Omar Hussein via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 4:12.
