PFL champion Brendan Loughnane has reacted to the kind words offered to him by Conor McGregor.

Last week, Brendan Loughnane finally broke through the glass ceiling and captured the PFL featherweight championship.

The former UFC fighter entered the PFL with the intention of going all the way and capturing that elusive $1 million prize. After coming up short in his first year, he proceeded to right that wrong in his sophomore appearance - finishing up with decisive wins over Chris Wade and Bubba Jenkins.

Loughnane has often been overlooked as one of the best 145-pounders in the world but now, it’ll be near enough impossible for his critics to hold him down even further.

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In the wake of his success over Jenkins, Brendan was treated to a surprise message from none other than Conor McGregor.

“UFC, sign Brendan Loughnane. Exciting fighter. A back story with the company. And of the European side. A money in the bank uk/Europe signing. Congrats on the win @BrendanMMA”

In response, Loughnane was full of praise for the Irishman during a chat with Ariel Helwani.

Video: Brendan Loughnane praises Conor McGregor

“I saw Conor popping up out of the blue. That just came out of nowhere. We speak now and again on DMs and stuff. I thought it was really nice, out of nowhere.”

“Beautiful, thank you pal. I was out in the pub still drinking and someone was like hey, Conor just tweeted you.

“That was really random. When Conor speaks though, everyone listens.”

Could it happen?

Outside of his brief UFC stint from early on in his career, the main highlight that Loughnane has had with the promotion came back in 2019 on the Contender Series.

That summer, he was able to defeat Bill Algeo via unanimous decision in an incredibly hard-fought affair.

The majority of fans and fighters watching were quick to insist that Dana White should offer him a contract, but instead, Loughnane was not given a deal after White complained that Brendan shot for a takedown in the final seconds of the bout.

Read more: Inspired by Ricky Hatton, Brendan Loughnane wants to bring PFL title back to Manchester

It’s been a source of controversy ever since but for many, this was Loughnane’s chance to prove the UFC wrong for not taking him - and he did it.

Now, he’ll likely hope to defend his crown when the promotion returns next year.