Wrestle World - PFL's Brendan Loughnane refutes TKO controversy vs. Pedro Carvalho: 'Should've been stopped earlier'

CHICAGO – Brendan Loughnane was puzzled to see there was controversy surrounding his latest win, as he thought it was a clean one.

The 2022 PFL featherweight champion picked up a first-round TKO win over Pedro Carvalho in the co-main event of Friday’s 2024 PFL 3 event. Many online criticized the stoppage, calling it premature, as Carvalho (13-9), who had been stunned a couple of times, looked to be going for a takedown when the fight was stopped. He also stood up immediately and seemed unhappy with the call.

Loughnane (28-5) is convinced the referee made the right move.

“That was the best stoppage ever,” Loughnane said in his post-fight interview. “Me, that referee, and Pedro are the three people in there. Pedro was done. I’m so glad he stopped it when he did because, listen, we all want to get paid and go to our families. It was a great stoppage.”

It wasn’t just online where people were criticizing the call. Loughnane got heavily booed by the Chicago crowd for his win, something that completely caught him off guard.

“I’ll be honest with you, I thought, ‘Is there 5,000 Pedro fans in here?” Loughnane said. “I couldn’t work out what all the boos were because it was a great stoppage. I’m not joking. I was in there. I saw his eyes. Pedro was done. It should’ve been stopped earlier. Like, I don’t know what all the boos were about, honestly. Even when he stood up he was done, he was gone. It was a great stoppage.”