The year was 2012, and the event was UFC on FX 6. For most fans, they went about it as they usually would. A normal fight night, enjoying the action, and maybe having a cold beverage or two.
If you use Twitter, you will have seen someone say they’re taking the dog for a walk during a fight. If you don’t get it, that fight is of no interest to them, and they don’t want to watch it.
Realistically, at UFC on FX 6, Mike Wilkinson vs. Brendan Loughnane was that fight. The fight ended up being a thrilling slugfest, with Wilkinson ended up walking away with a super tight decision.
Now, five years later, the pair will meet again, with a little added spice. There has been very minimal talk between the two in the build up to ACB 54, but there is arguably more on the line in this one. With a win here, Loughnane could finally be getting that second UFC shot, but for now, he’s only thinking about one thing, and that’s redemption.
For hardcore MMA fans, the name Brendan Loughnane is a known one. If he’s on and you’ve got a leash in your hand, you’re doing it wrong. Since that infamous first scrap, Loughnane has fought nine times, and has only lost one.
I feel like I have to bring this one up, but it’s the fight between Brendan Loughnane and… you guessed it, Tom Duquesnoy. It was, in my opinion, Loughnane’s best performance, but the only people that thought he lost that fight were the people that mattered, the judges.
That decision was kind of to be expected looking back, Duquesnoy being in the position that he was, but Loughnane is over it now, and is a better man because of it. The Frenchman was a poster boy for BAMMA, and although Loughnane had the home crowd, the show was built around the “Fire Kid”.
He rebounded with a massively one sided performance, stopping David Lee at FCC 15 before overcoming Eden Newton in one of the biggest grudge matches UK MMA has seen. In his most recent outing, the 27-year-old displayed how well rounded he is, outclassing Paul Cook and earning a third round stoppage at Tanko FC 2.
Is this the most important fight of Brendan Loughnane’s career so far? That, is for him to decide, but there’s no doubting this is massively important for him. Why? Because he gets to see how much he’s improved. He gets to fight the man that handed him his first ever loss and crushed his dreams.
Can we expect a slugfest like last time? Maybe, hopefully. We’re probably going to see a similar fight just with much more skill and class. One thing that has to be taken into account is how much each guy has improved, or lost.
Brendan, no doubt about it, had improved. On his worst day, when he’s emotional, angry, and wants to kill his opponent, as he did in the fight against Eden Newton, he was still phenomenal. Has Wilkinson improved? Judging by his results, no.
As we all know, you can never judge a fighter by his record. Although he has lost three times and won once since the fight against Brendan, but he’s been fighting UFC calibre opponents, and good ones too. His last bout was a little bit different, however, as he fought for the first time outside the UFC at ACB 41, and lost a Unanimous Decision to Soso Nizharadze, who, at the time, was 2-2.
It’s going to be very interesting to see what state of mind Wilkinson is in, as he’s lost two in a row, and is facing one of the biggest challenges of his career.
ACB 54 takes place live from the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England on Saturday, March 11. The card is set to be headlined by a middleweight championship fight between Mamed Khalidov and Luke Barnatt.
