Brendan Loughnane stands in pole position for another $1 million prize.
The 2022 PFL featherweight champion locked up the No. 1 seed for the 2024 featherweight playoffs with a gruesome stoppage win over Justin Gonzales on Friday in the main event of PFL 6. After winning the first round with his precision striking, Loughnane opened up a grisly gash across Gonzales’ forehead with a knee midway through the second round.
Upon seeing the damage, the cageside physician immediately halted the contest at 3:34 of the second round, awarding Loughnane (29-5) the TKO victory via doctor’s stoppage.
As the No. 1 seed, Loughnane now moves on to face No. 4 seed Kai Kamaka in the semifinals, while No. 2 seed Gabriel Braga meets No. 3 seed Timur Khizriev.
“The timing on that knee, I just watched it back — it was perfect,” Loughnane said.
“I could see his brain. I could see pink brain coming through the head and I thought, ‘[Referee] Jason [Herzog], do him a favor, lad. This is going to get ugly.’”
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In the co-main event, former interim Bellator welterweight champion Logan Storley (16-3) wrestled and ground-and-pounded his way to a unanimous decision win over Luca Poclit (10-2), but failed to make the welterweight playoffs after losing to Shamil Musaev in his promotional debut. The judges scored the contest 30-27, 29-28, and 29-29 in Storley’s favor.
The PFL welterweight bracket is now set with No. 1 seed Musaev rematching No. 4 seed Murad Ramazanov in the semifinals, and No. 2 seed Magomed Umalatov facing No. 3 seed Don Madge on the opposite side of the bracket.
Notably, Musaev already defeated Ramazanov via brutal second-round knockout on the preliminary card of Friday’s event. That finish can be watched below.
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PFL 6 took place at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D.
Check out compete PFL 6 results below.
Main Card
Brendan Loughnane def. Justin Gonzales via TKO (doctor’s stoppage) at 3:34 of Round 2
Logan Storley def. Luca Poclit via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Magomed Umalatov def. Brennan Ward via submission (anaconda choke) at 3:43 of Round 1
Gabriel Braga def. Bubba Jenkins via TKO (injury) at 1:48 of Round 2
Preliminary Card
Lorenz Larkin def. Alan Dominguez via TKO (punches) at 4:46 of Round 1
Shamil Musaev def. Murad Ramazanov via TKO (punches) at 1:51 of Round 2
Kai Kamaka III def. Pedro Carvalho via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Andrey Koreshkov def. Goiti Yamauchi via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-27, 29-27)
Timur Khizriev def. Enrique Barzola via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Neiman Gracie def. Don Madge via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Tyler Diamond def. Brett Johns via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
