Rivalries: Brendan Allen

All the pieces appear to be in place for Brendan Allen to make his long-awaited move toward the top of the Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight division.

The 28-year-old Henri Hooft disciple will look to break into the Top 5 at 185 pounds when he confronts Nassourdine Imavov in the UFC Fight Night 243 co-main event this Saturday at Accor Arena in Paris. Allen steps back into view with the fuel of a seven-fight winning streak powering his engines. A potent finisher, he has delivered 19 of his 24 professional victories—nearly 80% of them—by knockout, technical knockout or submission.

As Allen makes final preparations for his forthcoming showdown with Imavov in France, a look at a few of the rivalries that have helped shape his career to this point:

Eryk Anders

The former University of Alabama linebacker walked away with the inaugural Legacy Fighting Alliance middleweight title when was awarded a unanimous verdict over Allen in the LFA 14 headliner on June 23, 2017 at the Arena Theatre in Houston. All three cageside judges scored it 49-46. Anders dropped the South Carolina native in the first round and largely dictated the terms of their engagement with repeated takedowns, suffocating top control and steady ground-and-pound. Nevertheless, Allen had his moments. He threatened with a standing guillotine choke in the middle stanza, then climbed to full mount in the third and fourth rounds. Allen made a last-ditch pass at an armbar late in Round 5, but the finish he needed failed to materialize.

Tim Hiley

Having failed in two previous attempts to strike promotional gold, Allen made certain the third time was the charm. He captured vacant Legacy Fighting Alliance middleweight championship when he dismissed Hiley with a rear-naked choke in the third round of their LFA 50 main event on Sept. 21, 2018 at the Mystic Lake Casino Hotel in Prior Lake, Minnesota. Allen brought it to a close 3:16 into Round 3. An action-packed first 10 minutes in which both men withstood near finishes gave way to the decisive middle stanza. Allen pressed forward with punches and standing elbows, executed a powerful takedown and assaulted his counterpart from side control. No matter where Hiley turned, danger lurked. Allen eventually climbed to the back, secured his position with a tight body triangle and cinched the choke for the tapout.

Sean Strickland

The former King of the Cage champion wiped out Allen with punches in the second round of their UFC Fight Night 182 catchweight attraction on Nov. 14, 2020 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Strickland sealed the deal 92 seconds into Round 2. He tore into Allen with a potent jab and crisp two-punch combinations, all while mixing in a first-round takedown and a few front kicks to the face. The Duke Roufus protégé zeroed in on Strickland’s lower leg with kicks early in Round 2—he appeared to have the Californian in some distress—but paid the price for porous striking defense. “Tarzan” dazed Allen with a chopping right hand, dropped him to his knees with a left hook and followed with unabated rights to the head that forced referee Herb Dean to act.

Chris Curtis

Allen avenged one of his five career defeats and continued his steady climb on the Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight ladder with a split decision over the former CES MMA titleholder in the UFC Fight Night 240 headliner on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Judges Derek Cleary and Eric Colon saw it 48-47 and 49-46 for Allen, while Michael Bell turned in a 48-47 scorecard for Curtis, who replaced Marvin Vettori on late notice and did so admirably. The two rivals traded strategic barbs across five well-fought rounds. Curtis—who won their first meeting by technical knockout in December 2021—hammered the Kill Cliff Fight Club standout with body-head combinations, dazed him with a left hook in the third round and forced him to work for every inch of ground he gained. Allen mostly held his own in the standup department but excelled at shooting for takedowns and setting off scrambles. More than once he climbed onto Curtis’ back, threatened the neck and troubled him with pitter-patter punches from behind. With the outcome still very much up in the air, Allen swooped in for another attempted takedown late in the fifth round. Curtis turned away his advances but appeared to suffer a hamstring injury, leaving him vulnerable to a volley of knees in the waning seconds. It was a strong closing statement for Allen, as he recorded his seventh straight victory by the thinnest of margins.