Brendan Allen (25-7) believes someone will eventually push UFC Middleweight Champion Khamzat Chimaev to his limits. While Chimaev’s toughest opponents have come against Kamaru Usman and Gilbert Burns, many are wondering if the current crop of 185-pounders can give “Borz” problems. For Allen it isn’t a matter of if, but when.
During an interview with Newsweek Sports, Allen revealed what he thinks the keys to success against Chimaev are.
“I guess when you simplify everything, it could be something as simple as just good standup, good cardio, or good scrambles,” Allen said. “I don’t think you’re going to find a guy right now that’s in the UFC that’s in the top 20 that’s going to beat him in just pure wrestling, but obviously this isn’t pure wrestling. It’s MMA. He’s going to probably get everyone he fights down at some point. I think it’s just about having the awareness to create intelligent scrambles and really test that cardio and put pressure on the feet.”
Allen is convinced that Chimaev will eventually be forced to dig down deep during his middleweight title reign.
“We haven’t seen a whole lot of him being tested too much, especially at ’85,” Allen said. “It’s coming, but we just haven’t seen it yet.”
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Short Notice Fight With RDR
Allen will be in action on Saturday at UFC Vancouver. He will take on Reinier de Ridder (21-2) in the main event, although that wasn’t the initial plan. “RDR” was scheduled to face Anthony Hernandez, but “Fluffy” was removed from the card due to an injury. Allen was asked whether or not he was surprised when the UFC brass called him with a short-notice opportunity.
“A little, sort of, kind of,” Allen admitted. “I’ve only been in pretty big fights in the past couple of years. All the guys that I’ve fought and the guys that I’ve lost to have gone on to do really well for themselves. I always come to fight. Even on my worst nights I put on good fights, maybe not great. I’m always a test. I’m no slouch for anyone.”
Many felt that Nassourdine Imavov and the winner of de Ridder vs. Hernandez would be in a race to determine the next middleweight title challenger. Now that Allen has stepped into the fray, he isn’t so sure that a win guarantees him a shot at gold.
“I think politics play a lot of roles, so I think I’ll have to fight one more, but that’s okay,” Allen said. “After that loss [against Hernandez], I thought I would need two or three fights before I could fight for the belt. So, it still keeps me on the same timeline, but honestly, no matter what, it’s about showing out on Saturday night, being the best version of me, and all the rest will come later.”
Assessment of RDR
Since entering the UFC ranks, de Ridder has amassed a 4-0 record under the promotion. Allen has seen de Ridder in action, and he isn’t exactly impressed.
“I don’t think he’s anything special,” Allen said. “He’s awkward; obviously awkward is always different in this sport. If it’s not traditional, it’s kind of weird. When I say traditional, I mean just the basics of techniques and things, but I don’t think he’s anything special, to be honest. He’s big, he’s awkward, his jiu-jitsu’s, I guess, alright. I’ll test it on Saturday for sure. I don’t think he brings anything to the table that I haven’t seen before.”
Reflecting on DDP’s One-Sided Loss
On Aug. 16, Dricus du Plessis entered the United Center hoping to secure his third successful UFC middleweight title defense. Instead, Chimaev controlled him for nearly 22 minutes on his way to a dominating unanimous decision victory. Allen admitted he wasn’t exactly expecting the fight to play out the way that it did.
“No, I didn’t think Dricus would get dominated like that, especially every round,” Allen said. “I thought that Dricus would be able to create more scrambles on the ground. Obviously, I knew it would go there at least for [rounds] one and two, but I thought he would be able to create more scrambles, which would test how good Chimaev’s cardio really is to see if he could continue that dominance throughout those five rounds, but it just never happened.”
If Allen can’t secure a title opportunity with a win over de Ridder, then a showdown with du Plessis might be on his radar.
“For sure,” Allen said. “Him or Sean [Strickland]. Sean is more like, ‘I want to keep up my redemption train.’ I don’t know if it gets me a title shot, but beating Dricus for sure does. That’s one that I’ve wanted for a long time too.”
Rightful No. 1 Contender?
Allen isn’t afraid to admit that he feels Imavov is the rightful No. 1 contender for the UFC Middleweight Championship following his unanimous decision win over Caio Borralho back in September.
“I think he’s beat the guys that he needed to beat,” Allen said. “I didn’t really watch that fight too much. I was kind of busy. I saw little bits and pieces of it, and yeah, he won the fight. He did what he needed to do. He got it done in his hometown, and he’s been beating top guys for a good little minute now.”
Still, don’t expect Allen to turn down an opportunity for the 185-pound gold if he defeats de Ridder on Saturday.
“If Chimaev says my name if I go and get this win, and he wants to do it in April, March, whatever over Imavov, and the UFC says it’s good, I’m not going to turn it down, that’s for sure.”
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