The series returns on Tuesday with five more fights putting some of the sport’s top prospects on display. Season 3, Episode 4 will showcase a current Legacy Fighting Alliance champion, two DWCS veterans and a former professional soccer player.
A closer look at the lineup:
Brendan Allen vs. Aaron Jeffery
Every fighter who has held the LFA middleweight title is currently in the UFC, except for Allen. The 23-year-old can join the fraternity of Legacy Fighting Alliance champions in the UFC with a strong performance on DWCS. The Louisiana native sports an 11-3 record, with all three of his professional losses coming to current UFC fighters. He is riding a three-fight winning streak. The 23-year-old is an aggressive striker who constantly attacks with combinations. He does well when he is pressing the action but does not handle being pressured well. He also tends to stand up too straight, leaving his chin as a big target. The Roufasport representative mixes in kicks and loves to blast his opponents with hard knees in the clinch. Allen is a solid wrestler who can take down his opponent with trips from the clinch or entries from the outside. If Allen gets around his adversary’s hips, he has shown great strength by slamming and suplexing them. He looks for the takedown often but sometimes finds himself being sprawled on because he fails to set up his entries behind strikes. Allen has a strong grappling game. He smothers his opponents with heavy top pressure. He is a serious submission threat, with five such finishes to his credit. While he has great submissions off of his back, he can make the mistake of not scrambling to his feet and instead looking for an ankle or knee attack -- a decision that can leave him open to be hit. While Allen has some strong wins in his career, he has taken a significant amount of damage in his three career losses.
A Canadian standout, Jeffery steps into the Octagon riding a four-fight winning streak. The 26-year-old is the BTL Fight Promotions middleweight champion and a veteran of the King of the Cage and Cage Fury Fighting Championships organizations. The Para Bellum MMA export sports a 6-1 professional record. His lone loss came at the hands of highly touted prospect Sean Brady. Jeffery is a high-volume striker who pushes the pace and packs some serious heat in his hands. He uses good head movement to slip shots, which puts him in position to land his own strikes. He mixes in leg kicks and push kicks, as well. He has not been knocked out, but has been rocked in the past. The Canadian’s best position might be the clinch, where he excels with knees, elbows and dirty boxing. Jeffery is a mediocre wrestler but can unleash some effective ground-and-pound if he gets the fight to the canvas. He is an aggressive grappler but makes the mistake of going for the submission before securing a dominant position. The biggest weakness in the Canadian’s game is his takedown defense, but he can attack with submission attempts from the bottom. Jeffery is so committed to reaching the UFC that once he got the call to be on the Contender Series, he reportedly quit his job to fully focus on his goal.
This is a fun fight. Jeffery’s power makes him a true test on the feet, but Allen has the advantage on the ground. Expect this to be a back-and-forth affair, with both competitors getting in their licks and drawing blood. However, Allen’s experience should take over and eventually allow him to catch Jeffery in a submission late in the fight. The pick is Allen by third-round submission, as he becomes the latest LFA middleweight champion to secure a UFC contract.
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