Power Rankings: Brendan Loughnane makes a winning start at PFL 2
It wasn't a vintage Brendan Loughnane performance, but the British featherweight contender is off and running with a win at the start of the PFL's 2022 season.
It might not have been the spectacular start he was hoping for, but England’s Brendan Loughnane is off and running with a victory as the featherweight PFL season got underway last week.
Loughnane came back from being dropped for the first time in his career to claim a technical decision victory over Ryoji Kudo at PFL 2. Even though he wasn’t able to find a finish in the fight, his decision victory puts him level on points with all of the other featherweight winners from the first round of matchups, with nobody else able to find a finish in their respective bouts, either.
It wasn’t as memorable a night for former BAMMA heavyweight champion Stuart Austin, unfortunately. Austin was finished in the first round by 2021 PFL heavyweight champion Bruno Cappelozza as his season opened up with a defeat. There’s still a chance for him to score a big finish in his next bout and force his way into the playoffs, but he’ll need a quick finish to give himself a chance.
Next Up
A stack of Brits are ready for action this weekend across the UFC and Bellator, with six fighters ready to compete for their first victories of 2022.
Friday night sees Bellator 280 in Paris, France, where five Brits are all set to return to the Bellator cage looking for a big victory on European soil.
Former BAMMA middleweight champion Mike “Seabass” Shipman will lead the way when he takes on Gregory Babene in the main card opener at the AccorHotels Arena, while fellow Brits Lewis Long, Jordan Barton, Charlie Leary and Gavin Hughes are all scheduled for action on the preliminary card.
Then, on a huge UFC 274 card in Phoenix, Arizona, England’s Danny “Hot Chocolate” Roberts will return to action on the UFC Fight Pass Prelims when he takes on teak-tough Brazilian veteran Francisco Trinaldo.
It’s a big weekend for British fighters on the world stage, and you can follow them on BBC iPlayer/BBC Three (for Bellator 280) and UFC Fight Pass/BT Sport (for UFC 274).
Scoring System
The Brit Pack's Power Rankings are determined by an adaptation of the PFL's league scoring system, with fighters competing in MMA-rules bouts for UFC, Bellator, ONE Championship and PFL eligible for the list.
Fight appearance: 1 point
Win (of any kind): 3 points
Additional bonus points for a finish:
Round 1 finish: 3 points
Round 2 finish: 2 points
Round 3-5 finish: 1 point
Championship bonus (for winning a title fight with any of the aforementioned promotions): 5 points
Power Rankings: Updated May 5, 2022
7 points
Arnold Allen (UFC, ENG)
Tom Aspinall (UFC, ENG)
Paul Craig (UFC, SCO)
Muhammad Mokaev (UFC, ENG)
Paddy Pimblett (UFC, ENG)
Linton Vassell (Bellator, ENG)
5 points
Brett Johns (Bellator, WAL)
Molly McCann (UFC, ENG)
Simeon Powell (PFL, ENG)
4 points
Marc Diakiese (UFC, ENG)
Brendan Loughnane (PFL, ENG)
Casey O'Neill (UFC, SCO)
Jack Shore (UFC, WAL)
1 point
Stuart Austin (PFL, ENG)
Paul Elliot (ONE, ENG)
Cameron Else (UFC, ENG)
Mike Grundy (UFC, ENG)
Jamie Hay (Bellator, ENG)
Jai Herbert (UFC, ENG)
Charlie Leary (Bellator, ENG)
Aiden Lee (Bellator, ENG)
Leah McCourt (Bellator, NIR)
Cory McKenna (UFC, WAL)
Junior Morgan (Bellator, ENG)
Scott Pedersen (Bellator, WAL)
Stevie Ray (PFL, SCO)
Joanne Wood (UFC, SCO)