UFC Fight Night: Gane vs. Spivac Sleeper Scrap: Taylor Lapilus vs. Caolán Loughran

“Double Impact” put together an 8-1 record over the first two years of his pro career before attracting the attention of the UFC. He successfully debuted in the promotion in 2015 and went 3-1 before surprisingly being cut, which led to Lapilus returning to the European regional scene before becoming bantamweight champion in Canadian promotion TKO.

The 31-year-old joined France’s Ares FC in 2019 and also went on to claim that promotion's bantamweight title before getting the call to rejoin the UFC last year. 

One of the hottest prospects in recent memory to come out of Ireland, Caolán Loughran has used the experience from his 10-fight amateur career to put together an unbeaten start to his time as a pro.

The 27-year-old made short work of his first few opponents before going the distance in his Levels Fight League debut. The following year, he debuted in Cage Warriors with a second-round TKO. Loughran went on to finish the previously unbeaten Festus Ahorlu and former Cage Warriors champion Luke Shanks in his next two fights, which earned him a crack at the promotion’s vacant bantamweight title.

“The Don” took on Dylan Hazan at Cage Warriors 154 and handed the Italian the first loss of his pro career to win the bantamweight belt. He’s now set to become the latest Cage Warriors champion to make the jump to the UFC.

The Matchup

A southpaw, Lapilus does his best work on the feet and constantly pumps out his lead hand while trying to get his opponent to bite on feints.

The Frenchman is always in motion while things stay standing and is comfortable landing strikes off the back foot if pressured by his opposition. Lapilus times his left straight well as a counter shot and will open up with kicks more as a fight goes on. If he does manage to rock an opponent, he has good finishing instincts and will immediately turn up his output to try and end things.

The 31-year-old’s constant movement usually keeps him from getting caught flat footed on any takedown attempts, but if an opponent does get in close on “Double Impact, ”they need to be prepared for elbows and knees that may be coming their way.

Loughran is at his most dangerous when he can bring opponents to the mat before landing ground and pound, but the Irishman is more than happy to trade on the feet before shooting for his takedowns.

“The Don” relies on his lead hand to provide a lot of his striking offense, with jabs and left hooks being favored tools to try and back opponents to the fence. The 27-year-old also times counter shots with his right hand well, and if an opponent is fading, he’ll unload with flurries of big punches as well as a few kicks.

Any time a fighter feels their back hit the fence they need to be prepared for a takedown from Loughran, who excels at chaining his attempts together and is capable of ending fights with ground-and-pound from mount or while on his opponent’s back. 

The Stakes

This fight is unique in that it features an unbeaten UFC debutant against a fighter making his return to the promotion, so both men will enter the cage in Paris with plenty to prove.

Lapilus was actually supposed to formally rejoin the UFC this time last year for the promotion’s previous France card, but unfortunately an injury kept him from competing. “Double Impact” only suffered one loss in his eight fights since exiting the promotion, and the Frenchman no doubt plans to prove to the UFC that he never should have been cut in the first place.

Loughran was originally set to take on another UFC debutant in Yanis Gehmmouri before both men were slotted into different matchups on this card. The Irishman likely has plenty of confidence as an unbeaten talent, but Lapilus will have a considerable experience edge in this matchup after his previous fight with Muin Gafurov fell through. 

Seeing how both men adapt to a late opponent switch should be a major point of interest in this bout, but the differing styles at play also make the matchup worth watching. Loughran figures to have the advantage if he can get things to the mat, but Lapilus’ ability to keep his back off the cage could open up chances for him to tag “The Don” with counter strikes while maintaining the distance between them.

Both these fighters would still be standout talents on this card even if their previously scheduled matchups stayed intact, and now that they’re set to face one another the bantamweight tilt should play out as one of the best fights from the UFC’s second event in Paris.

You can catch up on previous editions of the MMA News' Sleeper Scrap right here!