Brendan Loughnane has vowed to "change the narrative" around his career by winning the PFL's $1million prize this year.
The Manchester native looked set to be on his way back to the UFC in 2019 after annihilating Bill Algeo on Dana White's Contender Series in Las Vegas. But the promotion's boss was unimpressed when, after dominating the entire contest, he shot for a takedown late in the fight to secure a lopsided decision.
At the time, White was furious that he had taken what was perceived as the safe option, and hadn't shown enough desire to earn a return to the promotion after his one fight in 2012. “It’s not even go for the finish,” White said at the time.
“You’ve got 10 seconds left in the fight. Show us you want to win. Show us how bad you want it. There’s no question what this show is about. This isn’t Saturday night’s fights, and you’re in the UFC.
"I’m there, we’re watching, and we want to see what you’ve got. You don’t double-leg when the 10-second thing claps. That’s not what I’m looking for. This guy is talented. He’s a good fighter. He put on a good fight. He’s not what I was looking for that night. Period. End of story.”
Since then, Loughnane has moved on to become one of the most noteworthy names during British MMA's new "golden age", and is one of the favourites to win this year's PFL. He faces Ago Huskic on Friday night in his second bout of the season, looking for a finish to secure his progress.
He had been set to face Boston Salmon, but will now face Huskic, who comes off the back of two losses on short notice. And he believes that winning this year's tournament, and it's mega-money prize, will be enough to change perceptions about his career.
"Wait until I win that million," he told Mirror Fighting ahead of his next outing. "We'll get yachts, strippers everywhere with my feet up. I'm only joking, we'll see what happens. I love this sport so we'll see what happens but it will be a nice icing on the cake, I think.
"I love PFL, I've loved them from the day that I signed, from the signing bonus to getting me a fight at Madison Square Garden and then getting me out at Mandalay Bay. They've given me great fights and a chance to project myself.
"I love fighting for them, they're great people and I hope more fighters come this way - they took a risk with me, I took a risk with them and it's kind of flourished. It's a great relationship and a great partnership.
"I don't need anything, I'm very happy and content in my life and my career, but it would be a nice icing on the cake. Let's change the narrative now, that was a focal point of my career but now let's make it that I'm the PFL world champion."
Loughnane was narrowly beaten in the semi-final of last year's tournament by the undefeated Russian powerhouse Movlid Khaybulaev. But he is expected to be one of the more difficult challenges this year, and is confident that he can walk away with the seven-figure payday.
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"I'm ready for them all," he declared. "Last year when I looked at it I saw Khaybulaev, 19-0, Khabib Nurmagomedov's training partner, and I thought 'f***, if I bump into him it's going to be hard'.
"And it was hard, I think I can beat him on the right day, it was a split decision. Let's get this belt this year and hopefully we can come back next year and do a super-fight rematch.
"Chris Wade always seems to find his way to the finals, Bubba Jenkins is always a very tough fight, Sheymon Moraes is on a run since I beat him. By no stretch of the imagination is this going to be a walk in the park.
"But it's something where I'm the most experienced in there now, I've been around the block, fought the highest level of opponent. I think it's mine to lose!"
