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At the end of his most recent fight, standing in the centre of the cage awaiting the decision of the judges, sweat pouring from his exhausted body, Brendan Loughnane thought he’d done enough.

After entering the contest as a considerable underdog, the British MMA standout had just put in unquestionably the best performance of his career against the highly touted Frenchman Tom Duquensoy, and he expected to soon be crowned the new BAMMA featherweight champion.

During the bout, the man from Manchester had consistently out-struck his opponent, using his superior reach to find the mark over and over, and Loughnane – as well as the majority of the fans in attendance – thought he had it in the bag.

But not for the first time he was unfairly denied by the judges who wrongly awarded the decision to Duquensoy, and Loughnane was left devastated by the result.

“Yeah it was heartbreaking. I put a lot into that fight; a lot of time, effort and money,” he told me.

“To get robbed like that, it really did knock my confidence. I had some big plans in line for after that fight and I was a massive underdog – nobody expected me to win the fight. You always dream of being world champion since you’re a kid and obviously to have it stolen from me was heartbreaking.”

The feeling of unjust was so severe that there were even thoughts of retirement for the 25 year old.

“That kind of thing has happened to me before,” he said. “When I fought Mike Wilkinson (at the TUF: Smashes finale) I thought I’d done enough to win that fight too, and that for me was the biggest fight of my life – it was in the UFC and that was my chance to get a contract at a young age and make something of myself.

“I felt like this; I’d had five fights, all won back-to-back, and this was my big chance again that I wasn’t going to let get away. For it to happen again, I thought ‘I’m done now.’”

Ultimately, the ‘All Powers gym’ product decided against walking away from the sport he loves and he hits the comeback trail on Saturday 5th March at the Macron Arena in Bolton at FCC15 after being granted a one-fight release from his BAMMA contract.

He’ll tangle with Dave Lee, a former two-time UFC competitor and grappling specialist who’s been a mixed martial artist for 15 years. Loughnane knows he’ll have to be on his A-game if he’s to emerge victorious. “Dave Lee’s a tough veteran, he’s been around a long time,” he said. “He’s fought great guys, had some fights in the UFC and he’s a blackbelt in jiujitsu.

“There’s no secrets to what both of us are going to try to do, so let’s just get in there and find out who’s better on the day.”

Aside from the injuries and damage the body can take in the cage, one of the most grueling obstacles for fighters to overcome in mixed martial arts is weight cutting. This next bout will take place at lightweight, with Loughnane reluctant to put his body through the torture of making the lighter featherweight limit until a worthwhile opportunity presents itself.

“I’m staying there (at 155lbs) for the next few fights.” he said. “It’s so hard for me to get down there (to the 145lbs featherweight limit). Like I say, I put all the effort in the last fight but people didn’t see the four months I was starving, or the two months I spent in America and all the money I spent.

“I don’t mind doing [a tough weight cut] if the rewards are there and people do their jobs properly, but at 155, I’ve a good record there, so I’m just looking forward to fighting there again.”

As well as the disappointing nature of defeat, Loughnane says the hardest thing about suffering a loss is telling friends and family he wasn’t able to get the win. But after all of his losses came via the judges, he’s focused on removing their influence all together and ensuring he doesn’t have to let anyone down again.

“I’ve really changed up my style over the last couple of months and I’m working on finishing people,” he said. “The only people who have ever beaten me in my life are judges. The only losses I have are due to judges, so that’s obviously my issue.

“I’ve never been submitted; never been knocked down; never been knocked out. So I’ve worked on that, and I’ve just been working on being super aggressive and finishing people rather than letting them take the fight away from me.”

For tickets to the event or for more information, visit www.fccmma.co.uk