PFL Featherweights Brendan Loughnane, Pedro
Carvalho, Bubba Jenkins and Kai Kamaka are about to meet for a
presser before their April 19 card in Chicago.Stay tuned for updates.
#PFLRegularseason— Sherdog (@sherdogdotcom)
April 4, 2024
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Winds of change have blown into the
Professional Fighters League this year, so it’s fitting that
the promotion will make a stop in Chicago. But before the PFL blows
into Wintrust Arena on April 19, a few of the organization’s top
featherweights doubt this season will be a breeze for anyone.
Featherweight 2022 champion Brendan
Loughnane has faced nearly the same group of fighters since
signing with PFL in 2019. It’s not that he doesn’t enjoy fighting
Bubba
Jenkins or Chris Wade on
a yearly basis, but the Manchester, England, native fancies a new
challenge. That’s exactly what he’ll get this season against former
Bellator
MMA contender Pedro
Carvalho and other debuting fighters.
“It’s been like me, Wade, Bubba, Movlid (Khaybulaev) for like three
years and we just rotate,” Loughnane joked on a Zoom call Thursday
afternoon. “So it’s nice to bring in all these fresh guys in …
coming in seven months and four weights cuts ain’t easy. We’re
going to see what everyone’s made of over the next several
months.”
Loughnane (26-5) has fought with PFL since 2019 and has only lost
twice. After winning the whole thing in 2022, he was knocked out
the next year in the season opener by eventual champion Jesus
Pinedo. Going into his match against Carvalho, Loughnane argues
that the first fight of the season could be the most even
matched.
“Usually, the advantages start in the second and third fights,”
Loughnane said. “That’s when the grind starts, and the weight cuts
get harder, and the injuries start to set in near the semifinals.
This is the best version of us. We’re both coming off our first
training camp, so this will be the best version of Brendan and
Pedro.”
Jenkins may be fighting 29-year-old Bellator prospect Kai Kamaka
III, but the 36-year-old shares Loughnane’s mindset. Jenkins
heads into his fourth PFL season and hopes this year will be the
year he finally captures the $1 million prize. Like Loughnane,
Jenkins believes his experience dealing with the grueling PFL
schedule will give him an advantage over any first-time
competitors.
“It gives me an edge because some of the other fighters are saying
the season picks up and it only gets tougher,” Jenkins said on the
call. “There’s a reason why they call it the toughest test in mixed
martial arts because of the back-to-back fights, the back-to-back
camps, the back-to-back weigh-ins… Maybe I’m biased to say it makes
me the favorite, but it definitely gives me a chance.”
Bellator fighters Carvalho and Kamaka aren’t underestimating the
grind of the PFL season, but to them, it’s like any other
challenge. Showing up and fighting is the name of the job, and they
don’t care how often they have to do it to claim the title.
Carvalho (13-8) has lost his last two fights but sees the PFL
season as the reboot his career needs. With the tournament format,
Carvalho can focus on one fight and then simply move on to a bigger
opportunity. No politics. No favorites. Just survive and
advance.
“It reminds me of back in the day in Portugal when I was doing K-1
tournaments,” Carvalho said. “I like it. One of my goals after my
last fight was to be more active, and I think I’m in the perfect
place for that.”
Kamaka (12-5-1) has won three straight and was starting to garner
some attention in the Bellator standings, a setback now would be
damaging to his career goals. Making a strong impression in his
promotional debut is crucial.
“Momentum plays a big role mentally for a lot of athletes and just
in general, you don’t want to start off with a loss,” he said. “The
win is most important in the fight game and must hold much weight.”