"It was bit of a blur," says Brendan Loughnane, recalling his exchange with Dana White following his ruthless UFC snub despite winning his bout on the Contender Series. "I was like 'really?'"
Loughnane was destined to fight in the UFC. He had just beaten Bill Algeo by unanimous decision, seemingly earning a contract with the MMA leaders.
But White was unhappy with Loughnane's approach in the closing minutes of the fight and opted against signing the British fighter, who described it as one of the 'darkest' moments in his MMA career.
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Despite forging a distinguished career with PFL, where he aims to become a two-time PFL champion with a $1 million prize on the line for next Friday's final against Timur Khizriev in Saudi Arabia, he's still remembered for THAT strategically-timed takedown attempt late in the third and final round.
Over five years have passed since his notorious appearance in the famed Octagon, but it's now a distant memory.
Asked how fresh it still is, he told SPORTbible: "I fought who... I didn't get what," he replied, cupping his ears in jest. "There you go... that's how fresh it is."
Loughnane was against the odds from the get-go. White matched him against one of the best guys in the United States, but the Manchester-born star prevailed and claimed what should have been a famous win.
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But the victory quickly became infamous when White gave him a brutal dressing down behind the scenes. Despite the unceremonious UFC exit, the 34-year-old holds no grudges.
"Listen that was one of the darkest (days)... literally, I went in there - first of all I should have never been on the Contender Series - and they gave me the best guy in the US to fight. He had two belts from another show," he continued.
"So, I ended up fighting him, dominated him, won every round. Then I came out of the cage and get told 'yeah, you're in... all you gotta do is sit in this room and they're gonna tell you'.
"So, I'm sitting in this room and there's three other people next to us... there's a camera team and all that. This guy gets in, then this girl gets in and I'm like 'wow this is weird' and then they're like 'you don't come here, you don't fight like that and you're not in the UFC'.
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"I was like 'really?!' He added before confirming it was White who relayed that savage message.
"It was a bit of blur. I had to re-write the whole career book. Thank god we did. Look where we are now. No love lost at all. That was his opinion on the night. I respect it and if anything, it's done me a favour."
Many aspiring fighters would have crumbled with the hand Loughnane has been dealt with, but he took the setback in his stride and harbours no regrets over his decision to take down his opponent in what he's described as 'the most lucrative takedown in MMA history'.
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"It got me into the PFL, and it made me a multi-millionaire... so, no I don't regret it at all."
At the end of the day Loughnane is a prize fighter, and the prize he's fighting for in PFL is setting up his future.
"One thing I always tell people is this is prize fighting. This is prize fighting. We're all gonna get forget about." he said.
"People get really clouded with 'yeah, but I'm in the UFC'... if I got offered a quarter of what I'm fighting for now why would I go to the UFC when it's the same fight, the same cage, my brain is still on the line.
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"It's about making money for your family and that's what it's about for me."
Fans can watch Brendan Loughnane at the PFL World Championship 2024 compete for the PFL Featherweight World Championship on 29 November in the UK live on DAZN.
Topics: Dana White, UFC, Spotlight
Nasir Jabbar