Brendan Loughnane Splits Open Justin Gonzalez’s Forehead & Grabs First Seed for PFL Featherweight Playoffs
Brendan Loughnane was prevented from defending his PFL featherweight title last season after being upset in the regular season when Jesus Pinedo rocked him with a high knee before finishing the fight with ground strikes. Loughnane utilized a stiff knee up the middle to cause Justin Gonzalez to suffer one of the nastiest cuts in recent MMA memory. While headlining PFL 6 in South Dakota Friday night, Loughnane connected with a knee that opened a large gash on Gonzalez’s forehead.
Loughnane, who won the 2022 championship, was thrilled with picking up a second-round KO. The win, which came via doctor’s stoppage, clinched first place in the featherweight standings. There was a lot of movement in the standings at featherweight from the first to the second week of the regular season.
PFL veteran and former playoff qualifier Bubba Jenkins saw his playoff hopes disappear when he suffered an injury shooting for a takedown along the cage. Jenkins couldn’t get his arms up to defend himself and would end up taking a loss to Gabriel Braga.
The featherweight and welterweight divisions both produced some surprises on Friday. Each weight division saw some fighters fall out of the playoff standings. There were several exciting finishes that should make the postseason fights fun to watch when the league resumes in a few months.
| PFL Featherweight Final StandingsTop four make playoffs | ||||
| Name | Win | Loss | Points | |
| 1. | Brendan Loughnane | 2 | 0 | 11 |
| 2. | Gabriel Alves Braga | 2 | 0 | 10 |
| 3. | Timur Khizriev | 2 | 0 | 6 |
| 4. | Kai Kamaka III | 2 | 0 | 6 |
| 5. | Adam Borics | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 6. | Tyler Diamond | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 7. | Justin Gonzalez | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 8. | Bubba Jenkins | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 9. | Pedro Carvola | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 10. | Enrique Barzola | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 11. | Brett Johns | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| *Tiebreaker for points is based on time of finish. | ||||
Musaev Earns Top Spot
The most disappointing part of Shamil Musaev knocking out Murad Ramazanov comes from how the PFL formats its season. Musaev, who is unbeaten in 17 career fights, will have to face Ramazanov again in the semifinals. But that doesn’t take any of the shine off his performance in this fight.
Musaev displayed his excellent striking. During the second round, he was able to string together a vicious combination that floored Ramazanov. When Ramazanov attempted to build back to his feet, Musaev pounced on him and knocked him out.
Musaev is on an impressive run. He has won his last three fights by knockout, including a win over former Bellator interim welterweight champion Logan Storley during his last fight. Musaev has won 11 of his 16 career victories by knockout. He will be a real threat to run away with the PFL title this season.
| PFL Welterweight regular season standingsTop four make playoffs | ||||
| Name | Win | Loss | Points | |
| 1. | Shamil Musaev | 2 | 0 | 10 |
| 2. | Magomed Umalatov | 2 | 0 | 9 |
| 3. | Don Madge | 1 | 1 | 6* |
| 4. | Murad Ramazanov | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| 5. | Neiman Gracie | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 6. | Andre Koreshkov | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 7. | Goiti Yamauchi | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 8. | Logan Storley | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 9. | Luca Poclit | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 10. | Brennan Ward | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 11. | Laureano Staropoli | 0 | 1 | -1** |
| *Tiebreaker for points is based on time of finish.** Staropoli was docked a point for missing weight before his last fight. | ||||
Storley Defends Turf in Home State
Logan Storley needed a first-round finish to go to the playoffs. But that didn’t materialize for the South Dakota native. Instead, he spent most of the first round trying to avoid being submitted by Luca Poclit.
Storley was attempting to finish a submission with an arm and triangle choke to steal the first-round win. But MMA latest updates show he couldn’t finish the maneuver. Instead, Storley went back to his college roots.
Storley utilized his wrestling to repeatedly put Poclit back down to the canvas. He was able to hold Poclit on the mat and land enough ground and pound to secure the decision win. While Storley missed out on grabbing a playoff spot, he was able to earn a win.
Ward Decides to Retire
Drug problems and personal issues wiped out most of Brennan Ward’s prime years. But Ward, 36, was able to get himself cleaned up and back to the sport following a five-year absence. Ward, a former Bellator Middleweight title challenger, didn’t see his inspirational story end in an uplighting way this season.
During both of his fights in the PFL regular season, Ward was submitted in the first round. Magomed Umalatov wrapped up Ward late in the first round Friday night. Umalatov’s striking helped put him in a position to grab a submission.
Ward retired after the first, saying he didn’t feel like he could keep up with the younger fighters.
Don Madge Loses but Advances
Don Madge was in first place in the welterweight standings going into the last fight of the regular season. The best MMA news sites show that Madge should feel fortunate he got a first-time finish during his first fight with Ward. Madge appeared to lose against Neiman Gracie.
Gracie utilized his wrestling and grappling to put himself in a strong position to control Madge. While Madge did his best to battle off his back, he couldn’t land enough strikes to sway the judges in his favor.
Here are the rest of the fights on the night not mentioned above:
- Welterweight, Lorenz Larkin win by TKO (knees and punches) over Alan Dominguez, Round 1 4:46
- Featherweight, Kai Kamaka III win by decision over Pedro Carvalho, 30-27, 29-28 (x2)
- Welterweight, Andrey Koreshkov win by decision over Goiti Yamauchi, 29-28, 29-27 (x2)
- Featherweight, Timur Khizriev win by decision over Enrique Barzola, 30-27 (x3)
- Featherweight, Tyler Diamond win by decision over Brett Johns, 29-28 (x3)
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By Dean McHugh.
