PFL’s Pedro Carvalho upset by stoppage in Brendan Loughnane loss, claims referee admitted wrong call

April 20, 2024 7:30 pm ET

Pedro Carvalho is far from happy with how his PFL debut went.

The Bellator veteran lost by first-round TKO to Brendan Loughnane in the co-main event of Friday’s 2024 PFL 3 event. Carvalho (13-9) was hurt early by Loughnane (28-5), but was fighting back. In the final sequence, Loughnane connected with a shot on a downed Carvalho, and referee Kevin MacDonald waved off the fight as Carvalho was looking for a takedown. Carvalho stood up immediately and protested the call.

The SBG Ireland product is upset with the call and said that McDonald admitted he made the wrong call. No official statement was made by MacDonald.

“An amazing week and experience with (PFL) that end up with a very sour taste in my mouth for something that I thought it would never happen to me and one of the worst stoppages that I have ever seen,” Carvalho wrote on Instagram. “I respect referee Kevin MacDonald specially for being a honorable man and came to me after the fight apologizing and admitting that he messed that one up.

“It really hurts, specially now with this point system the chances are very thin for me to reach the playoffs, but I’m still gonna find a way out of this.

I’m just gonna try to focus on how grateful I feel for being able to be living what I dreamed to be, doing what I always dreamed when I was a kid.

I’m gonna keep the work and focus going and hope that the outcome of my next fight will depend only on me… Thank you everyone for your support, it means a lot!! ❤️”

Carvalho is now on a three-fight losing streak. He has zero points in the PFL 2024 featherweight season and one fight remaining to look to qualify for the playoffs. Meanwhile, Loughnane scored six points with the first-round finish, getting closer to qualifying for the playoffs.

Loughnane also weighed in on the stoppage and said the opposite of Carvalho. He believes Carvalho was badly hurt and that MacDonald made the right call.

Be sure to visit the MMA Junkie Instagram page and YouTube channel to discuss this and more content with fans of mixed martial arts.