Former TUF stars Saul Rogers and Brendan Loughnane shine at Tanko Fighting Championships

TWO British lightweights who featured on the UFC’s famous show The Ultimate Fighter impressed as they looked to move one step closer to a spot in the UFC.

Brendan Loughnane lost out to Norman Parke in the semi-finals of the TUF Smashes season, while fellow Brit Saul Rogers went undefeated in the 22nd season of the show only to miss out on his chance to win the tournament due to visa issues last year.

And both men delivered impressive performances at the top of the fight card at the inaugural Tanko Fighting Championships event in Manchester last weekend.

Loughnane (12 wins, 2 losses) defeated longtime rival Eden Newton by TKO in the second round of their main event clash, while Rogers claimed an even more impressive first-round submission win over another British-based fighter with TUF credentials, Andre Winner.

After claiming his submission win, Rogers (11 wins, 1 loss) said he wanted to finish his journey to the Octagon and book himself a spot on the fight card at the upcoming UFC 204 event in Manchester in October.

“I’m buzzing, no one really finishes Andre like that,” he enthused.

“He is a tough and smart guy who has been around a while. I took him down and got the finish much quicker than most though, it couldn’t have gone any better.

“It was great to soak up the crowd and the event, I felt at home out there. It would be great to do it all over again on the upcoming UFC Manchester card in October.”