Brendan Allen is hoping for a title eliminator after extending his winning streak to three.
Allen was in the co-headlining spot for UFC Vegas 118 this past Saturday. He traded leather with Edmen Shahbazyan in a bout that ended up going the distance. After three rounds of action, “All In” scored the unanimous decision victory. The bout also earned “Fight of the Night” honors.
Now that the dust has settled on UFC’s latest event, Allen is in search of a significant opportunity. During the post-fight press conference, Allen called for a tilt with top-ranked middleweight contender Nassourdine Imavov. If he can’t get that matchup right away, then he will turn his attention to the winner of a heavily rumored scrap between Dricus du Plessis and Kamaru Usman (h/t Bloody Elbow).
“You never know. Let me and Nassourdine fight,” Allen said. “If Nassourdine wants to sit out and wait, that’s fine. Let me fight the winner of Usman and Dricus in October, maybe early November at the worst.”
Imavov is holding out hope that he will be next in line for a shot at Sean Strickland’s 185-pound gold. Khamzat Chimaev has been pounding the table for a rematch with Strickland, so the UFC brass will have a decision to make in the near future.
Allen has been beefing with du Plessis over the past year, and he has long called for a fight against the former UFC Middleweight Champion. Prior to UFC Vegas 118, Allen spoke to MMAFighting and revealed he was told a clash with “Stillknocks” was a done deal before he ultimately settled on fighting Shahbazyan. He went as far as to say he was “finessed” into thinking the bout was going to happen.
Would you rather see Brendan Allen fight Nassourdine Imavov, or the winner of Dricus du Plessis vs. Kamaru Usman next? Sound off in the comments below.