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Former PFL featherweight tournament winner Brendan Loughnane changed his decision to retire after training with UFC star Conor McGregor.
Loughnane suffered the first stoppage loss of his professional MMA career in the 2023 season of the PFL featherweight tournament. The Manchester native succumbed to his opponent Jesus Pinedo's knee and punches in Round 1.
During a recent interview with Adam Catterall of talkSPORT MMA, Loughnane explained that it was extremely difficult for him to process the loss. He said:
"I'm going to stick by the old saying - 'Stay in the shower long enough, you're going to get wet.' 50-plus fight, never been knocked out, right? It happened, now what? Are you just some coward that's just going to get knocked out and just walk away?"
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Brendan Loughnane said that he contemplated retiring from MMA a few times but a call from Conor McGregor changed his point of view:
"That's when I was in Dubai, contemplating what I'm going to do and then Conor McGregor rings! He says, 'Do you want to spar?' And there is nothing like a Conor backhand to check your chin and see if it still works and apparently, it still operates. So I thought, let's get back in there. Let's have a go. That started the fire!"
The featherweight fighter convinced his family that he would compete in the 2024 season. After spending Christmas with his family, Loughnane went to Thailand to prepare for a comeback.
Catch Loughnane's comments below (3:07):
Conor McGregor and Brendan Loughnane gearing up for the 2024 comeback
Brendan Loughnane will return to competition against Pedro Carvalho at the PFL Chicago event set to take place on April 19. The fight will serve as the co-main event while the welterweight contest between Andrey Koreshkov and Magomed Umalatov will headline the event.
Meanwhile, Conor McGregor, who has not competed professionally since suffering a brutal leg break at UFC 264 in July 2021, is also expected to make his return to the octagon later this year.
McGregor's return was delayed several times and it was speculated that he would fight former Bellator lightweight champion Michael Chandler. However, there has been no official announcement from the UFC so far.
