Caolan Loughran has confirmed that he is joining the PFL after being cut from the UFC despite winning his last fight.
The Irish fighter’s four-fight run in MMA’s top promotion proved controversial, winning two and losing two after accepting short notice bouts. He didn’t endear himself to home fans in the UK or France, and infamously shared an incident on a bus with Paddy Pimblett ahead of UFC 304.
However, as a former Cage Warriors champion with a sizeable following of Irish fans, Loughran’s signature was a hot commodity after his release was confirmed. And on Saturday night in Belfast, he confirmed his signing with the PFL.
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Caolan Loughran explains UFC exit and PFL signing
Caolan Loughran’s signing with the PFL was without much fanfare on Saturday night after a blunder with the broadcast. He had been due to be announced by Dan Hardy and Sean O’Connell, unless Lewis McGrillen were to win the co-main event in which case he would be called out for a face-off in the cage.
However, when the Manchester native won he opted against the callout and Loughran was left without a big moment in his home town. Speaking with Bloody Elbow, he said: “I was very cross but then Paul Hughes came out and tonight was Paul’s night.
“I didn’t want to take that away from him. They asked me to get in the cage after the fight and I said ‘absolutely not this is Paul’s night’.”
However, his signing has been confirmed and he will compete in next year’s World tournament after two showcase bouts this year. He had won his last UFC outing, but was not given a new deal after fighting out his initial four-fight deal which is standard for many new signings.
“I had a four-fight contract with the UFC and I fought that contract out,” he explained. “I came off the back of a big win and I won’t go into too much detail but they were meeting us with a wee bit of pushback and that rubbed me up the wrong way.
“Then PFL came in and even today the way that I was treated when I came in I felt really, really, really valued. I thought I made the right decision then after tonight I know for sure that I have made the right decision.
Caolan Loughran proved Paddy Pimblett wrong after bus altercation
Back in July of last year, Loughran and Pimblett got into it during a bus journey to the UFC 304 ceremonial weigh-ins. Members of rival gyms in Team Kaobon and Next Gen Liverpool, the pair have long had a rivalry between their coaches and teammates.
At one stage, Pimblett told Loughran that he would be knocked out by the unbeaten Luke Riley, who at the time was heading for a spot on Dana White’s Contender Series. He also claimed Loughran was ‘schooled’ during an amateur bout with Nathan Fletcher.
However, Loughran got revenge on Pimblett’s team when he defeated Fletcher at UFC London by way of a split decision. The result was not popular with fans in the arena, but it did allow him to take a victory in his feud with the beloved Liverpool native.