Middleweights
#11 MW | Andre Muniz (23-4, 5-0 UFC) vs. Brendan Allen (20-5, 8-2 UFC)It does not seem like Muniz’s game should work as well as it does, but it will be a joy to watch him succeed until it fails. Muniz already had a decade in the books as a pro fighter prior to his UFC debut in 2019, when “Sergipano” mostly lived up to the scouting report as a one-dimensional grappler. He was unable to find a finish against Brazilian countryman Antonio Arroyo and did not show much outside of his core competency in a fight where he mostly just did the better job of fighting through exhaustion. Muniz got his first UFC finish with a quick armbar of Bartosz Fabinski but figured to be set up as a sacrificial lamb against a late-career version of Ronaldo Souza in their 2021 pairing. Instead, Muniz earned another armbar victory, this time breaking the limb of one of the most feared submission artists in the history of the sport. Since then, it has continued to be smooth sailing for Muniz, with another armbar win over Eryk Anders and a grappling-heavy victory over Uriah Hall. However, he now finds himself in a tough spot as a dangerous contender nobody seems eager to actually fight. The Hall win figured to springboard him into a matchup against some elite competition, but instead, the ever-ready Allen steps up to the plate.
Still just 27 years old, Allen has packed a whole lot of fighting into a short time, and the experience seems to be paying off. Already well-tested prior to entering the UFC in 2019, “All In” also found a shocking level of success to kick off his UFC career. Even with a style seemingly centered around little else beyond messy aggression, Allen reeled off wins over Kevin Holland, Tom Breese and Kyle Daukaus. Allen eventually wound up just repeatedly charging headlong into danger against Sean Strickland for his first UFC loss, and he has since made some attempts to retool as a better striker—work that has clearly paid off, even as his game remains somewhat defensively void. A June decision win over Jacob Malkoun was a bit of a lucky break, as Allen gave up a surprising amount of control time to his opponent’s wrestling-heavy approach. It was nice to see him back to form against Krzysztof Jotko, earning a quick submission to earn his fifth win in six fights. However, this does seem to be a tough ask. Allen’s approach trades defense for the ability to open up some opportunities through aggression. Combined with each man’s predilection for wrestling, Muniz figures to win the race for a submission before Allen can make much headway. The pick is Muniz via first-round submission.
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Krylov vs. Spann
Muniz vs. Allen
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The Prelims