Exclusive – Caolan Loughran bolted from Atlantic City after first UFC win: ‘It’s not the best place in the world’
After a rough go in his UFC debut, Irish standout Caolan Loughran is ready to make it two-in-a-row inside the Octagon.
‘The Don’ was dealt the first loss of his professional mixed martial arts career at UFC Paris last year, suffering a unanimous decision defeat at the hands of Taylor Lapilus. Six months later, he bounced back with a win over Angel Pacheco in Atlantic City, securing his first victory inside the Octagon and moving his overall record to 9-1.
Speaking with Jordan Wright in a LowKick MMA exclusive interview, Loughran revealed that taking his first loss was more of a relief than anything, but he’s ready to continue his climb up the bantamweight ladder at UFC 304 on July 27.
“At the time it was just relief after I took my first professional loss,” Loughran said. “When you win, it wasn’t like, ‘Oh, I’m the f*cking man.’ Honestly, you’re just thinking, ‘Thank f*ck’ and then move forward, but once you get a new fight signed and you look to move up in the division, it’s very quickly back to business. But I’m feeling really good and I’m well prepared for this one.”
Caolan Loughran was not a fan of Atlantic City
Asked if he spent any time celebrating his first UFC win in Atlantic City, Loughran made his feelings about the ‘Vegas of the East Coast’ pretty clear.
“Truth be told, Atlantic City is a sh*thole,” Loughran added. “Not much goes on. We had planned to spend the next day in AC, but very quickly realized it’s not the best place in the world so the next day we all got up and left straight to New York. That was the plan anyway, but we were going to go on Monday. So me, my brother, my sister, and my woman all went up there.
… It was really nice. We got to take it [all] in. That’s the best thing about fighting. Bringing people on the trips and the experiences that come with it, like traveling the world and fighting in the UFC. It’s unbelievable.”
Fortunately, Loughran won’t have to make another 3,000-mile trek to a “sh*thole” for his next fight. On July 27, ‘The Don’ will head to Manchester for a clash with Ramon Taveras, a 10-2 fighter who, like Loughran, will be looking for win number two on MMA’s biggest stage.
Watch the full exclusive interview with Caolan Loughran below:
