Brendan Loughnane would be interested in pitting himself against the top fighters in Bellator amid reports that PFL are interested in purchasing their rival promotion.
The PFL featherweight champion is one fight into this year's season, and will seek to lock in a spot in his second consecutive playoff with a win over UFC veteran Jesus Pinedo on June 8 in Atlanta. He is currently atop the leaderboard after a second round knockout in his last outing against Marlon Moraes, and fancies legacy fights once he is finished with this year.
Manchester native Loughnane is in an elite group of world champions at 145lb that includes pound-for-pound greats across Bellator and the UFC in Patricio 'Pitbull' Freire and Alexander Volkanovski. But he is confident he could hold his own in a bout with either, and amid swirling discussion over a merger between Bellator and PFL feels a Pitbull fight may be possible next year.
"Imagine me and Pitbull to unify the belts," he proposed during an exclusive chat with Mirror Fighting . "I've just seen it online [that PFL and Bellator are in talks over a buyout], I don't know how true it is, but let's hope that it's true and I can unify the belts with Pitbull, why not? It would be insane, that's the type of s*** I'm talking about.
"Once I win this year's tournament it means I've won eight fights consecutively and then you look at the names I've beat on that run. Marlon Moraes, Sheymon Moraes, Bubba Jenkins, Chris Wade, I've beat all serious names and I've finished a few of them and I feel like I'm really building up a big name for myself now in MMA. I'm starting to get looked at as one of the elite 145lb fighters."
Loughnane infamously did enough to earn a spot in the UFC with a win over Bill Algeo on Dana White's Contender Series in 2019. But was denied a contract by White after attempting to secure the result with a takedown instead of pushing for a finish in a potentially career-defining moment.
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Instead, he went for PFL where he became a millionaire last year after defeating Bubba Jenkins in a gruelling finals performance at Madison Square Garden. Now, the featherweight star wants to show that he is one of the best in the world at 145lb, regardless of the promotion.
"I want PFL to keep signing these big names," he added. "Keep bringing them over and I can prove that mine's a real world title, it really is and I can compete with anybody at 145lb on the planet. I think people are really starting to take notice now so I want to put on another spectacular performance against Jesus.
"Then I'll go through the tournament again like I did the last time and finish people all the way. People will be like 'oh my god, this guy is for real'."
Brendan Loughnane fights Jesus Pinedo on June 8 live on DAZN for UK subscribers from the Overtime Elite Arena in Atlanta.
