Brendan Allen: I will have 'checked every box' for title shot with UFC Paris win vs. Nassourdine Imavov
Brendan Allen likes his position in the middleweight title picture going into Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 243 co-main event vs. Nassourdine Imavov.
Allen (24-5 MMA, 12-2 UFC) will look to extend his seven-fight winning streak when he takes on Imavov (14-4 MMA, 6-2 UFC) in a three-round bout at Accor Arena in Paris (ESPN+). It’s a big fight for the division, especially with champion Dricus Du Plessis coming off a recent title defense over Israel Adesanya at UFC 305 in August.
It’s expected that Du Plessis will rematch Sean Strickland in his next defense, then there’s a potential title eliminator around the corner between former champ Robert Whittaker and the undefeated Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 307 on Oct. 26 in Abu Dhabi.
Allen, No. 10 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie middleweight rankings, also sees No. 6 Caio Borralho in a strong position to fight for gold, but he thinks an impressive win over Imavov would elevate his resume to the point where he should be pushed to the front of the queue.
“Ideally speaking, if I go out there and beat Imavov, especially if I finish Imavov within three rounds in his hometown, in front of his people, I think I’ve checked every single box except for one: to fight for the title,” Allen told MMA Junkie on Tuesday. “There’s nothing I can really do overnight to check the one other box, which is (social media) followers. I don’t know. That’s not my jam. Everything on a fighting level, I think I’ve done every single thing.
“No matter who wins between Whittaker and Chimaev, I feel like that’s a fight for Caio. I think Caio said he wants one more if he can’t get the belt. I think that’s a great fight because he beats either one of them. My ultimate goal would be to fight whoever is for the belt next, which I think is Sean and Dricus. Fight the winner of that then I would be looking to defend against Caio because he would be next in line at the same time. That’s where it is. New blood. I’m the new blood. I’m the youngest guy at the top. Me and Dricus have the longest win streaks in the division, so one of our streaks has got to end if he’s still the champion. There’s a lot of good arguments to be made. The only negative is the followers.”
Allen, 28, knows he doesn’t have the cache right now to make massive demands or hold out for certain fights. He is accepting that the hard road is for him, but beating No. 7-ranked Imavov would do wonders to build his case.
If UFC doesn’t grant him his wish, though, he said he’s going to keep on pushing until the UFC brass are forced to give him what he wants and deserves.
“Everyone knows when I come to fight, I come to fight win or lose,” Allen said. “I’m going to put on a fight. You’re going to know you’re in a fight unless you catch me, and that’s the only way I think guys can beat me is to catch me. That can happen to anyone on any given night and that’s the reason I always say to everyone I don’t control the outcome. If I do my job on Saturday I think I have a great argument. But I’m not one to sit out for a year to see that. I’m not going to go that. I’m not leaving money on the table like that.”
Allen admits he initially had some mixed feelings about the fight with Imavov. He initially wanted a five-round headliner and had agreed to such, but claims his opponent declined a 25-minute fight. Allen agreed to that and proceeded with his preparation, and now he’s ready to go into the octagon and perform in a situation where the chips are against him.
“Sometimes people just need everything in their favor,” Allen said of Imavov. “At the end of the day he got his way and it’s in his favor. It’s in his hometown in front of his people with probably his judges and everything else. It is what it is. I’ll be there on Saturday night if God says the same.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 243.