Brendan Loughnane recalls being congratulated by Tyson Fury, Mike Tyson after PFL debut

Brendan Loughnane wasn’t able to the display the punching prowess he’s known for in his PFL debut.

A cut suffered prior to his meeting with Matt Wagy put a damper on his willingness to strike. But he still won, and nothing could replace what happened after he got backstage: Congratulations from boxing greats Tyson Fury and Mike Tyson were waiting.

Speaking on the latest episode of Eurobash, Loughnane said that was a nice pick-me-up after he was unable to engage with too many punching exchanges before his decision win. The laceration could’ve opened up with the slightest bit of contact. so he backed off.

“All I come for is the finishes, that’s what the people want to see, and that’s what I want to deliver,” Loughnane told MMA Fighting’s Eurobash podcast.

“No excuses, but this was a bit of a compromised camp. That cut that opened up was an old cut, so I didn’t spar for the whole camp, because the cut kept on opening. I kind of knew I had to play it safe. I didn’t want to get stopped due to a cut, and there were a few more little injuries. But yeah, I just kept the guy at distance and used my legs instead.”

After having his hand raised for a successful promotional debut, Loughnane found himself on FaceTime with Fury. Then he was congratulated by Tyson.

“I’ll tell you how it happened…I got off a FaceTime with Fury and I was trying to tell the [PFL] owner that I had just been talking to Tyson (Fury),” Loughnane recalled. “He said, ‘Do you want to go and meet him now?’ He thought I meant Mike Tyson. I was like, ‘Yeah, okay,’ so I went to meet Mike Tyson! So I spoke to both Tysons in one night.”

The Mancunian explained that his friend put him on the phone with Fury, and the two then began to discuss their scars of war.

“When I was getting my stitches done my friend rang (Fury) and put him on the phone and I was talking to him,” Loughnane explained. “He was in Vegas as well, and he said he’d come over for a drink, but he had a flight in the morning and he was with his family. So he was going to come out, but he didn’t end up coming in the end.

“He saw I was getting stitches, and he started telling me about his, so we were having a laugh about that,” he added. “I had a beer in my hand and so did he, so we said ‘Cheers’ over FaceTime. It was brilliant!”

Loughnane also remembers Mike Tyson being full of praise following his decision win.

“[Tyson] was nothing but complimentary,” he said. “PFL had been (talking) me up to him as well. He knew who I was coming into the fight, and he was looking forward to seeing the performance. I was just a bit devastated that I didn’t get the finish, but he was happy with it. Everyone was happy with it apart from me, to be honest.”

Check out Brendan Loughnane’s latest appearance on Eurobash. His interview begins at 44:00.