LAS VEGAS – Brendan Allen wants his shot at the UFC middleweight ***** le, or at the very least a fight that gets him just hat.
Allen (27-7 MMA, 15-4 UFC), a veteran contender at 185 pounds, maintained his top five position in the division with a solid win over Edmen Shahbazyan (16-6 MMA, 9-6 UFC) in the co-main event of UFC Fight Night 278 (Paramount+) – which took place Saturday at the Meta APEX. The victory put Allen on a three-fight winning streak, and now he wants to cash those wins for an chance at UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland.
"I don't think I deserve anything. I earned (it). I try to earn everything I get," Allen said at the UFC Fight Night 278 post-fight press conference. "I mean, f*ck, I hope Sean goes out here and he's the champion, so hopefully he picks me. Let's run this sh*t back. It's been six years since we fought. I think I was beating him going into it. If you watch our fight at different angles, you could tell he didn't hit me with the striking. It wasn't there. So I think I get him out of there now.
"I think Edmen is a better version of him. He's younger. He's more technical. He's faster. So I think Edmen is a better version of him, and I think I get Sean out of there, 'And new.' But you never know. If not, let me and Nassourdine (Imavov) fight. If Nassourdine wants to sit down and wait, that's fine. Let me fight the winner of (Kamaru) Usman and Dricus (Du Plessis) in October, maybe early November at the worst."
Allen has history with Strickland. The two fought back in 2020. Strickland put a halt to a seven-fight winning streak for Allen, while also handing him his first UFC loss.
Allen (27-7 MMA, 15-4 UFC), a veteran contender at 185 pounds, maintained his top five position in the division with a solid win over Edmen Shahbazyan (16-6 MMA, 9-6 UFC) in the co-main event of UFC Fight Night 278 (Paramount+) – which took place Saturday at the Meta APEX. The victory put Allen on a three-fight winning streak, and now he wants to cash those wins for an chance at UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland.
"I don't think I deserve anything. I earned (it). I try to earn everything I get," Allen said at the UFC Fight Night 278 post-fight press conference. "I mean, f*ck, I hope Sean goes out here and he's the champion, so hopefully he picks me. Let's run this sh*t back. It's been six years since we fought. I think I was beating him going into it. If you watch our fight at different angles, you could tell he didn't hit me with the striking. It wasn't there. So I think I get him out of there now.
"I think Edmen is a better version of him. He's younger. He's more technical. He's faster. So I think Edmen is a better version of him, and I think I get Sean out of there, 'And new.' But you never know. If not, let me and Nassourdine (Imavov) fight. If Nassourdine wants to sit down and wait, that's fine. Let me fight the winner of (Kamaru) Usman and Dricus (Du Plessis) in October, maybe early November at the worst."
Allen has history with Strickland. The two fought back in 2020. Strickland put a halt to a seven-fight winning streak for Allen, while also handing him his first UFC loss.
7 days ago
