Brendan Loughnane: Briton beats Chris Wade in PFL play-offs to set up $1m fight
- Published
Loughnane threw and landed more strikes than Wade during the fight
Manchester's Brendan Loughnane outpointed Chris Wade at the Professional Fighters League (PFL) play-offs in London to reach the featherweight final and opportunity to fight for $1m.
The 32-year-old out-struck America's Wade over three rounds to win via unanimous decision.
He will face Bubba Jenkins in November.
"Guess what? I'm going to be a millionaire," said Loughnane post-fight.
"Forget the gameplan, I'm calling out the bookmakers who had me as a 3-1 underdog. Everybody is rich."
The PFL differs from other promotions such as the UFC in that fighters compete while earning points in a seasonal format, where the top four fighters from each weight division progress to the play-off semi-finals.
The eventual winner secures the division's title and a $1m prize.
Loughnane has improved on last season's result, where he suffered defeat to Russia's Movlid Khaybulaev in the semi-finals.
The Briton held the upper hand over Wade for the majority of the fight, landing the more significant strikes and defending most of his takedown attempts.
Following the bout he was joined by American Jenkins inside the cage, where the pair embraced ahead of their clash in the final.
"I was very scared coming into this fight, I won't sugar-coat it, I know how good Wade is," said Loughnane.
"I love this guy [Jenkins], I have so much respect for him, I'll go out and party with him tonight.
"But we're professionals and I've fought loads of my friends in the past. I don't care who you are, once you lock the door, we're going to compete then we'll be friends after, that's how it is."
Dominant Harrison wins again
In the women's lightweight semi-finals, two-time champion Kayla Harrison submitted Martina Jindrova in the first round to reach a third successive final.
America's Harrison, 32, extended her unbeaten record in MMA to 15 after winning with an arm triangle in the first round.
She will face Brazil's Larissa Pacheco in the final for a third time - the same opponent Harrison beat in the 2019 final.
Elsewhere, Britain's Dakota Ditcheva beat Hassna Gaber after just 58 seconds on her PFL debut.
The 24-year-old extended her record to 6-0 with an impressive performance, stopping Egypt's Gaber with a series of kicks and knees to the body.