Tiarnan Loughran is an experienced amateur MMA fighter, who will be making his pro debut at Levels Fight League 12 on April 21st. He is also the brother of UFC Bantamweight, Caolán Loughran.
I sat down with Tiarnan and spoke with him about his pro debut, his amateur career, his teammates, gym, and what it’s like to gain the experience from his brother being in the UFC.
Pro Debut
Levels Fight League is an MMA promotion based in The Netherlands. Tiarnan tells me they reached out to him to give him the opportunity to make his pro debut, as the reason why he’s making his debut here rather than in Ireland. He also expressed interest in travelling for his fight, since his last five fights have all been in Ireland. He told me it will be a quick trip, flying in on the Friday and out on the Monday, with his fight on Sunday.
Speaking about his opponent, Tiarnan says, “he’s absolutely mad. He came out like a mad man [in his last fight].” Based on the research he’s done on his opponent, Tiarnan feels confident he’ll be able to get the job done. As he tells me, “I feel like if I hit the ground with Ivan, it would probably, not end pretty quick, but I’d be confident I could be in control.”
Amateur Career
Tiarnan had an extensive 13-fight amateur career with a record of 10-2-1. He tells me these fights helped him a lot in preparation for his professional career. He also preaches that he doesn’t want to rush his professional career. “Most of the [UFC Champions] are in their lower 30s or maybe are 30. At 22 [or] 23 you’re just not going to be ready to beat them boys. They have too much experience and they’re just going to be too good.”
Tiarnan thinks it’s the perfect time now to move on to his pro career. He believes he’s the perfect age to go pro and has done enough as an amateur, being a two-time champion at Cage Conflict. He also details what happened in his amateur debut, in which he got an 18-second knockout, saying, “I was doing MMA, I think, nine months… my coaches were like ‘Fuck, you’re doing well, we’ll get you a fight’… he got me a fight against a boy, Kuba Lulek. I slipped the jab and landed the right hand.”
Gym & Teammates
Within the past year, Tiarnan Loughran has changed from training at Team Kaobon in Liverpool to Fight Academy Ireland in Belfast. Talking about the move, he said, “the five fights I got last year with Fight Academy, they were literally career changing.” He praises the gym for massively improving his game over such a short amount of time.
His team-mates Paul Hughes and Scott Harvey both fought and won at Cage Warriors 170 in Dublin this past weekend. Tiarnan tells me that seeing them win makes him look forward to his pro career even more. He told me, “I’m excited to enter the scene. As an amateur, it doesn’t really matter. Even the belts and all, they don’t really matter, but now every win is so important.”
Future Plan & The UFC
Tiarnan’s ultimate goal is the get to the UFC, but he doesn’t seem too fussed about how he gets there. “I’ll just have to wait and see… If Cage Warriors can get me there, I’ll go that way. If LFL can get me there, maybe I’ll go that way. I’m not tying myself down to anyone.”
Tiarnan also shows gratitude towards his brother, Caolán, for giving him the experience of being in a UFC environment. He commented on his time in Atlantic City, where Caolán was fighting. He told me, “I was doing pads before, I think it was the Friday, and fucking Wonderboy and Chris Weidman are like doing a play-spar. I was like ‘what is going on here boys, how have I found myself here?’ For me getting these experiences is absolutely priceless.”
Levels Fight League 12 on April 21st will feature Tiarnan Loughran, in his professional debut, taking on Ivan Sukhohuzov. Tiarnan is a huge prospect, having had a great amateur career and has all the tools around him to become a world champion. We’re all excited to see how his future unfolds. Make sure to keep an eye on him.
