Preview: PFL 9, 2022 Playoffs

Featherweights

Chris Wade (22-7, 10-4 PFL) vs. Brendan Loughnane (23-4, 6-1 PFL)

ODDS: Wade (-260); Loughnane (+200)

There’s a sense of unfinished business at hand for Wade, who has been in the PFL playoffs on three previous occasions and fallen short each time, including a unanimous decision loss to Movlid Khaybulaev in the 2021 championships. The Long Island, N.Y., native earned the No. 1 seed at featherweight on the strength of regular season victories against Lance Palmer and Kyle Bochniak. The triumph over the typically durable Bochniak was especially impressive, as Wade hurt his foe with calf kicks, dropped him with a head kick and swarmed with punches on the canvas for a first-round finish.

Wade, who went 5-2 in the UFC before joining the PFL, has the skills to make like difficult for virtually anyone. He’s not known as a knockout artist, but he works well behind forward pressure, a solid jab and a versatile arsenal of kicks and knees. He transitions well between different phases of MMA and will make wrestling-minded foes work by scrambling and threatening with submissions on the canvas.

Loughnane also went 2-0 during his 2022 PFL campaign, but the in-cage product was not as impressive as the record. He was rocked and dropped early against huge underdog Ryoji Kudo in his first outing and spent much of the bout on the defensive. While he emerged with a technical unanimous decision after the bout was stopped early due to an accidental clash of heads, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say he was fortunate to get the nod on the scorecards. Loughnane again had trouble out of the gates against Ago Huskic, when the offense from his opponent resulted in his eye swelling shut after one round. The Dana White’s Contender Series alum shifted gears and relied on takedowns to carry him to a decision triumph, but he’ll need to step up his game against Wade.

Loughnane is fairly well-rounded, as he blends punches and kicks together well and is competent in the wrestling and grappling aspects, as well. However, his striking has been tentative of late, and he could struggle against the forward pressure of Wade. It’s also unlikely that he’ll be able to control Wade through takedowns if the exchanges don’t go his way. Barring a huge turnaround from Loughnane, this is Wade’s fight to win. He’ll take a decision and advance to the featherweight finals.

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Harrison vs. Jindrova
Wade vs. Loughnane
Pacheco vs. Kolesnyk
Kudo vs. Jenkins
Main Card
Qualifiers
Prelims