PFL champion Brendan Loughnane is looking to win his second world title this year and his first step is a fight against former UFC star Marlon Moraes.
Loughnane, 33, clinched the PFL featherweight belt and $1million prize last November by knocking out Bubba Jenkins in the tournament finale to top off an excellent 2022 campaign. Moraes fought on the undercard of Loughnane's world title win as he was shockingly knocked out in his PFL title by Sheymon Moraes.
A one-time UFC title challenger, Moraes was long considered the 'boogeyman' of the bantamweight division but has now moved up to featherweight. The Brazilian is without a win in his past five fights, but Loughnane is chomping at the bit to fight someone of Moraes' calibre given his past achievements.
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"I'm glad they brought Marlon in, I need fights with name value now," Loughnane told Mirror Fighting. "Marlon gives me massive name value so it's definitely a good one to add to the win streak. There's some big names on my resume now so I want to keep adding that up. If I could have picked an opponent from the roster, it would have been Marlon. He's got a bigger following than me on social media, everyone knows him and he's a name to beat."
Loughnane admitted to feeling "lost" after winning the PFL's illustrious seven-figure prize and he even pondered retirement. Despite promising his family and friends he wouldn't compete in another season for the PFL, Loughnane went against his promise as he wants to build his legacy before hanging up his gloves.
"I was a bit lost because I didn't know whether I was going to carry on fighting," he added. "It's the hardest thing in the world mentally and physically. I promised my mum, coach and partner that I wouldn't do it again and now I've ended up doing it again. It's difficult for not just me, but my whole family because I'm away for a year.
"I was a bit undecided, but once I made my mind up that I was going to do it I was 100 per cent back in again and now I feel happier than ever. It was like 'I'm 33 now, I've probably got about three years left of fighting in me'. So now it's about fighting these big names to really build up my legacy."
