Brendan Allen is hopeful of a middleweight title shot if he gets past his next opponent.
Allen will go to enemy territory to co-headline UFC Fight Night 243 against French contender Nassourdine Imavov at the Accor Arena in Paris on Saturday. While Allen acknowledged Imavov’s striking speed, “All in” believes he is a better fighter overall.
“One attribute that definitely stands out for him is, he’s fast. I just think I’m better,” Allen recently told TMZ Sports. “I’m sure he probably thinks he’s better than me. I just think I’m better than him everywhere. I don’t think he’s fought anyone like me that possesses the skills that I possess and the athletic abilities that I have, the experience. I don’t think he’s fought anyone with all those things lumped in one. I know he’s probably thinking he’s gonna come out here and run through me and beat me up or whatever, that’s fine. Lot of people have thought that before and lot of people have fallen. So hopefully he’ll be the next one.”
Currently riding a seven-fight winning streak that includes five submissions, Allen is on the cusp of a title shot. Meanwhile, the middleweight title picture is currently a bit cloudy. Dricus Du Plessis won the title with a controversial split-decision win over Sean Strickland at UFC 297 this past January. Du Plessis has since defended his strap with a submission win over Israel Adesanya at UFC 305 this past August. Strickland is now adamant on fighting for the title next, which Dana White has implied will likely be the case. However, the clash between top contender Khamzat Chimaev and former champ Robert Whittaker scheduled for UFC 308 on Oct. 26 also cannot be entirely discounted as a potential title eliminator. Amid the logjam, Allen is hoping to impress enough at UFC Paris to make a case for a gold bid. As for a preference of opponent, Allen wouldn’t mind either Du Plessis, whom he has been trying to fight for a while, or Strickland, who defeated him via TKO in 2020.
“I really hope this one is the one that gets me the title shot… I’ve been trying to fight [Du Plessis] since he come into this organization,” Allen said. “So I’d love for it to be him still when I get there. By the way, if Sean wins and I get that next, that’s great for me too. I don’t mind either one of those guys being next, no matter what. I’ll definitely take either one of those guys next. But I’m not willing to wait a year to do so. The division’s in a weird spot right not. It just is, it’s just one of those times. And hopefully I can stand out above the rest and get my shot next.”
