Brendan Loughnane aims to join an exclusive club of two-time champions in the Professional Fighters League this week, while also walking away with $1 million.
Standing in his way in Riyadh this Friday is the undefeated Timur Khizriev (17-0), who has his own designs on the featherweight crown at the 2024 PFL World Championship finals.
Britain's Loughnane won his first PFL featherweight title in 2022 by beating Bubba Jenkins. He successfully defended his crown against Marlon Moraes before losing his belt to Jesus Pinedo last year.
Manchester-born Loughnane, 34, who has won 30 of his 35 mixed martial arts bouts, believes his experience will be the key to regaining the strap.
“It's definitely nothing I've not seen before. I've been fighting for a long time. I've fought world-class people for the last decade. So, I'm more than ready for it,” Loughnane told The National when asked about the threat posed by Russian Khizriev.
“And yes, a lot of experience and I think that's going to play a key factor in me winning the fight.”
In Khizriev, Loughnane faces an opponent known for his grappling prowess. It's not surprising given that Khizriev began his combat sports journey in wrestling aged nine. The Russian arrives riding a hot streak that includes three wins in Bellator and three more in the PFL.
But Loughnane said: “I just think it's a typical striker versus grappler contest. I think he's going to try and take it to the floor and I'm going to try to knock him out, and whoever is successful will win the fight."
The bout could also be the last for Loughnane competing in the PFL tournament format.
The promotion currently stages fights across six weight divisions, as well as a special pay-per-view “Super Fight” division that is based on name and status.
In January 2023, PFL announced they had signed an exclusive deal with YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul to make him the first fighter in the new PPV division.
Paul co-created the PFL Super Fight division in which fighters earn 50 per cent revenue from all of their bouts.
Francis Ngannou became the first PFL Super Fight heavyweight champion on his MMA return in October, after dispatching Renan Ferreira in the first round in Riyadh.
In the regular weight classes there is a $1m jackpot available for each year's champion but that comes after a gruelling tournament format. Loughnane heads into this weekend's bout desperate to land his second winner's cheque but with one eye on the Super Fight division.
“I have been in the PFL for six years and they are great," the Englishman said. “I've grown with the company from start to finish, you know, they changed my life, changed my family's life and I love fighting for them.
“[The tournament format] is very difficult, mentally, physically, it's very hard to compete so many times back-to-back, but I've done it so many times now that I'm used to it.
“Now I’m going to do things like the Super Fights and fights with belts and things like that, so I'll choose this one instead. Rather than doing the tournament format again I'd rather just do it the other way now, because I feel that I have been here a long time and it is physically demanding.
“It takes a full year out of your life every year. I have done this for the last four to five years. I sat down with my manager and my team and I think it would be more beneficial now to have bigger fights, like in the UK, some Super Fights ... I would love to do that.”
Having moved to Dubai after purchasing a property there in 2022, Loughnane now divides his time between the city and his native England, spending around six months a year in each.
“I have been coming on and off to Dubai since 2020 and later bought a property. I use it also as a base to train and for flying out to Riyadh after completing my final preparations here,” Loughnane said.
“I'm really happy to be in Dubai, happy to be in my own home in Dubai, you know, finishing this and then getting a flight tomorrow to go and fight and then back to my home again.”
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
|
1.
|
United States
|
|
2.
|
China
|
|
3.
|
UAE
|
|
4.
|
Japan
|
|
5
|
Norway
|
|
6.
|
Canada
|
|
7.
|
Singapore
|
|
8.
|
Australia
|
|
9.
|
Saudi Arabia
|
|
10.
|
South Korea
|
The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
PROFILE BOX
Company name: Overwrite.ai
Founder: Ayman Alashkar
Started: Established in 2020
Based: Dubai International Financial Centre, Dubai
Sector: PropTech
Initial investment: Self-funded by founder
Funding stage: Seed funding, in talks with angel investors
EXPATS
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Lulu%20Wang%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Nicole%20Kidman%2C%20Sarayu%20Blue%2C%20Ji-young%20Yoo%2C%20Brian%20Tee%2C%20Jack%20Huston%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
UAE cricketers abroad
Sid Jhurani is not the first cricketer from the UAE to go to the UK to try his luck.
Rameez Shahzad Played alongside Ben Stokes and Liam Plunkett in Durham while he was studying there. He also played club cricket as an overseas professional, but his time in the UK stunted his UAE career. The batsman went a decade without playing for the national team.
Yodhin Punja The seam bowler was named in the UAE’s extended World Cup squad in 2015 despite being just 15 at the time. He made his senior UAE debut aged 16, and subsequently took up a scholarship at Claremont High School in the south of England.
Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
Qosty Byogaani
Starring: Hani Razmzi, Maya Nasir and Hassan Hosny
Four stars
Five healthy carbs and how to eat them
Brown rice: consume an amount that fits in the palm of your hand
Non-starchy vegetables, such as broccoli: consume raw or at low temperatures, and don’t reheat
Oatmeal: look out for pure whole oat grains or kernels, which are locally grown and packaged; avoid those that have travelled from afar
Fruit: a medium bowl a day and no more, and never fruit juices
Lentils and lentil pasta: soak these well and cook them at a low temperature; refrain from eating highly processed pasta variants
Courtesy Roma Megchiani, functional nutritionist at Dubai’s 77 Veggie Boutique
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
The biog
DOB: March 13, 1987
Place of birth: Jeddah, Saudi Arabia but lived in Virginia in the US and raised in Lebanon
School: ACS in Lebanon
University: BSA in Graphic Design at the American University of Beirut
MSA in Design Entrepreneurship at the School of Visual Arts in New York City
Nationality: Lebanese
Status: Single
Favourite thing to do: I really enjoy cycling, I was a participant in Cycling for Gaza for the second time this year
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
Major matches on Manic Monday
Andy Murray (GBR) v Benoit Paire (FRA)
Grigor Dimitrov (BGR) v Roger Federer (SUI)
Rafael Nadal (ESP) v Gilles Muller (LUX)
Adrian Mannarino (FRA) Novak Djokovic (SRB)
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Polarised public
31% in UK say BBC is biased to left-wing views
19% in UK say BBC is biased to right-wing views
19% in UK say BBC is not biased at all
Source: YouGov
PRISCILLA
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Sofia%20Coppola%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%20Cailee%20Spaeny%2C%20Jacob%20Elordi%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
