Manchester native Brendan Loughnane (9-1) completed a successful debut in the British Association of Mixed Martial Arts on December 6 when he brushed aside Frenchman Florian Rousseau (5-3) on the undercard of BAMMA 17 at the Victoria Warehouse in Manchester.
The featherweight UFC veteran dispatched of Rousseau with a forceful performance en route to a first round TKO victory. Loughnane was originally set to face Ludus Magnus product Zi Shah (6-1), however several opponent changes opened the door for Rousseau to step in.
Despite claiming victory, Loughnane remains hungry for a greater challenge and expressed to MMA Plus that he was far from satisfied with the easy win.
“That’s what I hate – when people say it was ‘one way’,” Loughnane explained. “I’d have preferred for him to come out and just have it with me, but he felt my power and he went away. I just wish I’d got a bit more out of him, I wish he’d have stood there and had a little bit more, but what can you do.
“I’ll fight for the title – I’ll fight him (Tom Duquesnoy) tomorrow. I’m ready, whoever BAMMA put in front of me, I’ll do it.”
Loughnane has put together a 4-fight win streak taking his record outside of the UFC to 9-0; this coupled with his UFC veteran status could lead to some highlight moments in BAMMA, and the Predators MMA fighter feels he’s closing in on a BAMMA title opportunity.
“It’s looking that way, I’ve been around the circuit a while now, I’ve fought some good guys; Norman [Parke] is ranked second in the country (at lightweight), Mike [Wilkinson] is ranked second in the country at featherweight, Ali Maclean’s in the top-10. I’ve fought all good guys so it’s time for me now to fight the top guys again, lets push back for the UFC, lets get that title here.”
As a lightweight contender on The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes series in 2012, Loughnane was brought in to replace the injured Michael Pastoua and out performed Australian Patrick Iodice in the opening round before losing a unanimous decision to eventual winner Norman Parke in the semi-finals. Loughnane went on to face fellow Brit Mike Wilkinson at UFC on FX 6; however, lost via unanimous decision before leaving the promotion.
Current BAMMA world featherweight champion Tom Duquesnoy (9-1) is next in action on Feb 21 when he defends the 145lb crown against Krzysztof Klaczek at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall.
Photo by Jorden Curran
