The 2022 PFL featherweight champion, Brendan Loughnane, is none too pleased with his fellow fighters. Following the barrage of PFL drug suspensions in recent weeks – nine in May, and another so far this month – Loughnane had some choice words on the matter in his recent appearance on The MMA Hour.
“I’ve been quite vocal about it. Obviously, I’m not happy about it one bit. We put enough on the line as it is. My brain’s on the line. My health’s on the line. And then everyone’s popping for all types of stuff.
Brendan Loughnane Disgusted By Onslaught Of Failed PFL Drug Tests
They sent a list out, I’ve seen it online, of what people were actually popping for. Some of them are like four substances. It’s like, what? I’m getting in the cage and fighting these people?”
Like most combat athletes, Brendan Loughnane knows what it’s like to go up against an opponent who has been juicing. The sparring room is one thing, but the kind of no-holds-barred competition the PFL presents is another thing entirely.
“In training, you can tell so [easily]. ’ve trained with guys and then six months later I’ve trained with them and touched them and I’m going, ‘Yeah, he’s a brick wall. He’s on some stuff.’ You can definitely tell.
You can’t so much tell with the naked eye sometimes, but there’s a feel factor and it’s definitely something that’s rife in our sport and it needs kicking out. It really does. There’s enough danger in this sport anyway. We don’t need any more.”
All fighters who tested positive have been removed from the PFL’s 2023 season. The PFL, unlike other major MMA promotions, runs a league format, where fighters progress from one round to the next across the year-long season. Now, Loughnane will fight Jesus Pinedo this Thursday, and hopes not to come across any substance abusers in this year’s season.
Loughnane simply hopes that the stringent testing that caught so many PFL fighters in its net continues throughout the season. As we enter the latter stages of the PFL season, it’s more important than ever to weed out any fighters who might be gaining an unfair competitive edge.
“Thank God, they’ve all been caught. Hopefully that sends a message to everybody that’s doing it in here and hopefully that’s the end of it. Hopefully there’s going to be more stringent testing coming up to the semifinals. It has to happen, obviously.”
Do you agree with Brendan Loughnane’s take on PFL PED use? Let us know in the comments.
