After his 2022 title-winning season, Loughnane got off to a hot start in 2023 but ultimately disappointed as he suffered a knockout loss to eventual champion Jesus Pinedo and missed the playoffs.

His first fight back from that loss came against Carvalho, the Portuguese SBGI product who has lost five of seven fights since working his way up to a title shot against Patricio Pitbull in 2020. Loughnane was a massive favorite at six-to-one odds, which was proven valid as he got an early knockout win, despite a controversial early stoppage.

Carvalho came out in his bouncy karate stance trying to get into and out of range quickly. However, Brendan caught him with a right hand that began the end of the fight. Loughnane chased him down, and just as Pedro began to recover he got caught again. This time he went down. Carvalho did well to avoid ground and pound. Although he did take some shots he worked his way back up to his knees, where he stayed for a while trying to bait Brendan in so he could grab a leg. He did take a few punches but seemed to be relatively okay, yet the referee made a bizarre choice to stop the fight, not even as he was taking a punch but as Pedro was moving forward to attempt a low single leg takedown from his knees.

Carvalho protested the stoppage and the crowd booed noisily when they saw the replay, but it was too late to change the result. The general consensus, however, was that the stoppage came quite early.

Despite the poor stoppage, it was an impressive showing for former champion Brendan Loughnane, earning a quick six points in PFL’s featherweight regular season, shooting the Brit into a tie for first place with last year’s runner up, Gabriel Braga.

Official Result: Brendan Loughnane def. Pedro Carvalho by TKO (punches), Round 1, 1:26

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“On top of the world, happy to be back, happy to see you guys. Happy to see all the back staff, and ready to have some fun on Friday night,” Loughnane told Cageside Press on Wednesday.

“A lots changed, but it hasn’t really. It’s still a tournament. We still got four dates to attend to. We still got a great run organization so for me it doesn’t matter who the other 9 guys are. It’s just about being the best version of myself, and painting a picture on Friday night.”

Loughnane (27-5) got an early exit from last season’s tournament when he lost to Jesus Pinedo in June. It gave the PFL veteran an early out, but also a lot of time to recover.

“I needed that time off. I didn’t know I needed it as much as I actually needed it. I’ve been stuck in this tumble dryer for three years now where you don’t really get any time off and you’re just fighting all the time. To go out early last season and kind of go and lick my wounds, get better, have a bit of time off with my friends and family, and now come back here refreshed and reinvigorated,” he said.

This Friday night he gets Carvalho who comes over to PFL as part of the Bellator purchase.

“Well he is game,” he said.

“Exactly. He’s game. He’s going to come and fight me. That’s what makes it exciting.”

Watch the entire media day scrum with Brendan Loughnane above. He takes on Pedro Carvalho this Friday night in Chicago.

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“You say former champion. That’s a name title you know. How many former champions, how many champions, did I face before,” Carvalho told Cageside Press on Wednesday

“(You can see) on my record back to back I face world-class guys, but Brendan is one of them. That’s one of the fights that I wanted that’s a fight that I got so it (gets) me very excited.”

Carvalho (13-8) brings the fight to his opponent, but in Loughnane he gets someone who isn’t afraid to mix it up in the smart cage.

“(He’s) very similar to me when it comes to fighting style. I’m going to have a great fight with him, and it won’t be boring at all. So yeah I’m buzzing, but my focus is in winning and getting (the) job done, and that’s what’s going to happen this Friday,” he said.

If fighting a former champion in the smart cage wasn’t enough Carvalho gets to check off another city off his list as he makes his first trip to Chicago.

“It’s amazing. Chicago has been in my bucket list to visit. When I hear that I was going to Chicago to fight I was like ah that’s a win-win,” he said.

“I’m doing what I love and I’m visiting a place that I always wanted to visit. So far it’s been amazing.”

Watch the entire media day scrum with Pedro Carvalho above. He takes on Brendan Loughnane at PFL 3: Regular Season 2024 on Friday night.

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Third-ranked has been a consummate finisher in his career but showed a well-rounded game to go the distance with James Gonzalez in his last fight. His opponent, Pedro Carvalho, was ranked fifth coming into the fight and had traded wins and losses for his last five fights. Carvalho had a home field advantage in this one as he trains out of SBG Ireland despite being of Portuguese nationality. Pico was a huge favorite going into the bout but Carvalho has spoiled many a party in the past for top contenders and hyped-up prospects alike.

Carvalho came out with his usual low kicks but Pico pressured him back to the fence and got a body lock takedown in the first thirty seconds. Carvalho was able to turn his back to Pico, crawl to the cage, and use the fence to stand backup. After just one quick striking exchange Pico shot again and the same sequence repeated itself, with Pico landing one good knee in the clinch on the way up.

The same thing kept again, Pico landed every takedown at will but could not hold Pedro down. Then everything changed when Aaron suddenly landed a big uppercut that sat Carvalho down. Pico jumped into the full guard of the Portuguese fighter and rained down ground and pound while maintaining control this time. Carvalho’s eye was badly bloodied and eventually he could not just sit there and take shots. Pedro turned his back but was trapped; Pico had him flattened out and landed a few more strikes to the side of the head of a facedown Carvalho to finish the fight.

In his post-fight interview Pico called for a title shot. With his resume and the way the division is currently oriented it will be hard to deny him.

Official Result: Aaron Pico def. Pedro Carvalho by TKO (uppercut to ground strikes) Round 1, 3:05

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While not fighting at home in England, Edwards was at least nearby, and had the chance to make a bit of history on Saturday were he to capture the crown, with brother Leon Edwards currently reigning as the UFC’s welterweight champ.

Eblen, meanwhile, was looking to remain perfect and defend his title for the second time since defeating Gegard Mousasi to ascend to the top of the Bellator middleweight mountain in June of 2022.

In the Bellator 299 co-main event, Aaron Pico and Pedro Carvalho faced off in a key featherweight bout, made all the more important due to the uncertainty over when Patricio Pitbull might return to action.

Bellator 299 goes down Saturday in Dublin, with the preliminary card kicking off at 11AM local time. The card airs on Showtime in the U.S. following online prelims, and via streaming PPV in Canada. Full results can be found below.

Bellator 299: Eblen vs. Edwards Results

Main card

Johnny Eblen (c) def. Fabian Edwards by KO, Round 3, 0:21 — for the Bellator MMA middleweight championship
Aaron Pico def. Pedro Carvalho by TKO (ground n’ pound), Round 1, 3:05
Sara Collins def. Sinead Kavanagh by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
Mads Burnell def. Daniel Weichel by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Levan Chokheli def. Sabah Homasi by KO (front kick), Round 1, 1:51

Preliminary card

Peter Queally vs. Daniele Miceli declared a No Contest (eye poke), Round 1, 0:26
Jay-Jay Wilson def. Mansour Barnaoui by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Grégory Babene def. Charlie Ward by submission (guillotine choke), Round 1, 1:03
Ciarán Clarke def. Przemysław Górny by submission (arm-triangle choke), Round 2, 2:52
Luca Poclit def. Roman Faraldo by submission (D’arce choke), Round 1, 2:18
Khasan Magomedsharipov def. Piotr Niedzielski by submission (arm-triangle choke), Round 2, 3:58
Darragh Kelly def. Jelle Zeegers by TKO (ground n’ pound), Round 3, 3:42
Otto Rodrigues def. Brian Moore by submission (arm-triangle choke), Round 2, 1:31
Attila Korkmaz def. Davy Gallon by TKO (punches), Round 3, 0:23
Asaël Adjoudj def. Ibrahim Al-Faqih Hassan by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Josh O’Connor def. Kenny Mokhonoana by unanimous decision (30–27, 30–26, 30–26)
Romain Debienne def. Nicolò Solli by KO (punches), Round 1, 0:39
Sergey Bilostenniy def. Kasim Aras by TKO (spinning wheel kick/punches), Round 1, 2:33
Mark Ewen def. Noah Gugnon by TKO (elbows/punches), Round 2, 3:51
Mackenzie Stiller def. Chiara Penco by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

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Announced via press release on Tuesday, Aaron Pico (11-4) will face Pedro Carvalho (13-7) at the event on September 23, 2023 at the 3Arena in Dublin.

MMA Fighting previously reported the booking.

Pico was last seen in action in April at Bellator 295, picking up a dominant unanimous decision win against short-notice replacement James Gonzalez. One of Bellator’s bumper crop of rookies in years past, Pico finds himself on a 7-1 run at the moment, with the lone loss due to a shoulder injury suffered early in his fight against Jeremy Kennedy.

Carvalho (13-7) will enter the fight off his own loss to Kennedy. The Portuguese fighter, who trains out of SBG Ireland, challenged Patricio Pitbull for Bellator’s featherweight title in 2020, but after losing that fight, has been on a rocky stretch. He’s 2-3 since.

Pico is currently ranked #3 in the 145lb division in Bellator, Carvalho at #4. The fight will feature as part of the Bellator 299 main card. Thus far, the following match-ups have been reported for the event:

• Johnny Eblen (c) vs. Fabian Edwards — for the Bellator MMA middleweight championship
• Aaron Pico vs. Pedro Carvalho
• Mads Burnell vs. Daniel Weichel
• Brian Moore vs. Otto Rodrigues
• Sinead Kavanagh vs. Sara Collins
• Luke Trainer vs. Laurynas Urbonavicius
• Mark Ewen vs. Noah Gugnon
• Kenny Mokhonoana vs. Josh O’Connor
• Chiara Penco vs. Mackenzie Stiller
• Nicolo Solli vs. Romain Debienne

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On Saturday, he’ll be met by the no. 5 ranked Jeremy Kennedy in a three-round featherweight co-main event at 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland. Carvalho expects to have the crowd behind him from start to finish, while the Canadian Kennedy travels to “The Game’s” adopted hometown as he looks to play the role of spoiler. 

“It’s so special… these are moments I’ll take with me for the rest of my life,” Carvalho said about fighting in Dublin. “Whenever there is a Bellator Dublin, a lot of fighters at SBG Ireland are on the card, so the atmosphere in the gym is unique. The fight week vibe is so good – we’re like a little army ready to go into war. Then fight night – you have the pound-for-pound best crowd in the world supporting you and cheering for you. It’s amazing.”

Carvalho is coming off of one of the most notable wins of his career, showcasing his wrestling prowess en route to a unanimous decision victory over a game opponent in Mads Burnell. If the Portuguese featherweight gets his hand raised tonight, he believes that there will be nobody left standing between him and the champion, Pitbull.

“After this fight, I am fighting for the belt,” Carvalho said. “I am going to beat Jeremy Kennedy, put myself on the #1 spot, and whoever [is champion] – it doesn’t matter. I’m just going to be out there winning the gold, that’s all that matters to me.”

Tonight’s match-up with Kennedy is undoubtedly the biggest fight of Carvalho’s career thus far, a moment the 27-year old has been preparing for since signing with Bellator in 2018. It’ll be interesting to see whether Carvalho has what it takes to pull off yet another upset victory under the bright lights – over a polished Xtreme Couture product once again.

“With baby steps, we will get to the top. I come from a country where MMA didn’t really exist. I’ve overcome a lot of obstacles in my life, and I still do today. Nothing can stop me. I’ll start by beating Jeremy Kennedy, then become world champion, and we’ll go from there,” Carvalho said.

Pedro Carvalho faces Jeremy Kennedy at Bellator 291 on February 25, 2023 at 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland.

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That night, he’ll be faced with a tough test in the form of Pedro Carvalho, who’s coming off of the biggest victory of his Bellator career over Mads Burnell — a teammate of Kennedy’s. The featherweight bout will likely decide who receives the next title shot at the legendary Patricio Pitbull, an opponent that Kennedy has been preparing to fight for some time.

“It’s nice to earn my title shot against a guy in his own hometown, someone ranked higher than me again,” Kennedy told Cageside Press recently. “This will be my fourth top five guy in a row, this is my route to the title. I’m coming after Pitbull after this and I’m excited for it,” Kennedy said.”

The two top-5 Bellator featherweights will meet on Carvalho’s turf, though Kennedy is no stranger to infiltrating enemy territory. 

“I’ve [fought internationally] my whole career prior to these last few years, fighting in Brazil, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Australia. I’m comfortable and used to flying and going into my opponents’ backyards,” Kennedy said.

Kennedy fought in the UFC from 2016-2018, winning three consecutive fights before losing to current UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski. Kennedy moved on to Brave CF where he’d fight twice, earning two knockout victories before heading to PFL. Kennedy finally found a home with Bellator in 2020, where he plans to stay for the foreseeable future after inking his second contract with the promotion.

“I’m capped at Bellator — this is my home. I love it here…this is my time to get this #1 contender fight, fight for the belt shortly after that this year,” Kennedy said. “I just signed my first second contract — so Bellator is for sure my home.”

In addition to Kennedy’s “JBC” nickname, which stands for Junior Bacon Cheeseburger, Kennedy is well-known for his unusual training camp superstitions and unique victory celebrations. 

“I [dye my hair platinum] at the start of every camp, pretty much right at the eight-week mark. It’s kind of a tradition, I got a lot of little superstitious things I do throughout camp,” Kennedy said. “I like routine and I’m not big on change, so I like to find what works for me, just trial and error through all these camps to keep adding to my regime.”

While the platinum has begun to fade from Kennedy’s naturally brown hair, the eighteen tally marks tattooed on his rib cage will remain in place forever. Within a few weeks of each of Kennedy’s eighteen professional MMA wins, he has inked a tally mark on his rib cage to symbolize another rigorous and victorious training camp. He intends to pay his tattoo artist a few more visits in the coming months.

“2023 we have to get three. We’re starting pretty early in February, fight again in the summer, then again near the end of the year — get a nice three tallies,” Kennedy said.

Kennedy will look to make a statement in his 2023 debut against Pedro Carvalho, and cash his ticket to a featherweight championship bout with Pitbull next summer. While “JBC’s” sights are set on Bellator gold, Kennedy knows better than to overlook a game opponent in Carvalho.

“Pedro finds a way to win, he’s resilient, he has a good gas tank, and he just keeps coming forward  he knows how to steal these rounds,” Kennedy said. “I just have to make sure I don’t give him an inch, I’m just going full-force. I’m trying to get the finish here.”

Jeremy Kennedy faces Pedro Carvalho at Bellator 292 on February 25, 2023 at 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland.

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Third-ranked Burnell had been undefeated in three fights in the promotion before running into Adam Borics, who is now the next featherweight title challenger, earlier in 2022 in one of the best main events of the year in any promotion. Pedro Carvalho, the fifth ranked 145lb fighter in Bellator, looked to rebound in this fight, having seen a dip in his fortunes as he holds only one win in his last four fights including his loss in his title shot against Patricio Pitbull.

The primarily orthodox Burnell came right out, pushed the southpaw Carvalho back to the fence, and shot a takedown. After switching off from a double leg Burnell was able to get on the back of the SBG fighter. Carvalho escaped, got to the feet, and came back with an effective body-kicking game on the feet but Mads shot another takedown, got to the back again, and this time got a hook in. Carvalho kept escaping and standing back up, but the chain wrestling of the Dane was able to trap his Portuguese opponent in a vicious cycle. Pedro eventually escaped once more and his incessant volume became a problem for Burnell on the feet but Mads shot a double leg and took the back again. Carvalho seemed unable to stop any takedowns, but was able to stifle sustained grappling success as he reversed the position. Seemed to gain top position, but Mads was able to reverse again, continuing the high pace, and get the back one final time in the last thirty seconds. He tried to threaten a choke but never got particularly close. The round could have gone either way as Burnell had the grappling success and Carvalho had the striking success.

The second round started with more success from Mads on the feet than the first, where he had almost no striking success. Another disruption of the fight’s meta seemed to come when Pedro stuffed the first takedown, but once again the chain wrestling of Burnell was too much and once again he took the back. Many mat returns and stand-ups later the pair were back to striking. Pedro reversed the next takedown and threatened a guillotine choke, but Burnell’s superior positional grappling saw him take the back again. Mads Burnell had refused to put the second hook in throughout the fight and Pedro Carvalho once again escaped as a result. Carvalho threatened a d’Arce from top position but its only effect was to lose him top position and eventually lead to his back being taken again. Towards the end of round two Burnell began to appear tired as he backed up to the fence under a striking onslaught, got taken down without resisting, and ended the round on bottom while eating significant ground and pound strikes. Carvalho almost definitely won the second due to how he closed it out.

Going into the third round two questions loomed large, what score did the judges have and was Mads’ gas tank failing him? Carvalho came out with a high striking pace once again but Mads landed a decent counter or two while getting tagged. Carvalho cleanly stuffed the first takedown from the Dane and began to put damage on his foe in the clinch with brutal knees before landing a takedown into side control. Short elbows served to keep Pedro busy from top position and do accumulative damage over the next thirty seconds until Burnell re-guarded and tried to execute a half guard sweep, which Pedro denied. When the bell rang Carvalho’s chances at winning the decision seemed very promising as he was able to maintain top position, do a bit of damage, and halt Burnell’s sweep attempts for the rest of the fight.

When the scorecards were read all three judges had the fight for Pedro Carvalho, with one judge giving him all three rounds.

Official Result: Pedro Carvalho def. Mads Burnell by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

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Among the additions to the card at the 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland is a previously reported featherweight match-up, featuring Pedro Carvalho (12-6) taking on Mads Burnell (16-4). Severe MMA first broke news of the pairing.

In addition, Irish lightweight prosecpt Darragh Kelly (1-0), a.k.a. the “Moville Mauler,” will face England’s Kye Stevens (3-1, 1NC). At featherweight, undefeated Irishman ​​Kenny “Black Diamond” Mokhonoana (3-0) takes on Slovakia’s Alex Bodnar (3-1), and finally, another 145-pound showdown features France’s Asaël Adjoudj (3-1) against Poland’s Adam Gustab (6-5).

Carvalho vs. Burnell, however, carries the most weight in terms of divisional relevance. Burnell is fresh off a decision loss to Adam Borics — a fight that nevertheless seemed to boost the Danish fighter’s stock. On a seven-fight winning streak prior to the setback, Burnell goes up against former title challenger Carvalho with the opportunity to get right back in the mix.

After amassing a two-fight losing streak during the pandemic, Portugal’s Carvalho got back in the win column back in November, defeating German featherweight vet Daniel Weichel. But earlier this month, he dropped a split decision to Piotr Niedzielski.

Bellator Dublin, set to unfold at the 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland on September 23, 2022, is expected to be headlined by a lightweight bout featuring Benson Henderson against Peter Queally. Yoel Romero vs. Melvin Manhoef also features. The following match-ups have been reported for the event:

• Peter Queally vs. Benson Henderson
• Yoel Romero vs. Melvin Manhoef
• Brett Johns vs. James Gallagher
• Mads Burnell vs. Pedro Carvalho
• Ciaran Clarke vs. Georges Sasu
• Brian Moore vs. Arivaldo Silva
• Georgi Karakhanyan vs. Kane Mousah
• Darragh Kelly vs. Kye Stevens
• Kenny Mokhonoana vs. Alex Bodnar
• Asaël Adjoudj vs. Adam Gustab

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