The UFC’s Middleweight Division has a dark horse and his name is Brendan Allen. Ahead of his main event rematch with Chris Curtis at UFC Vegas 90, Allen laid out his own plan to the title pending a victory over his previous opponent.
The original plan for UFC Vegas 90 was for Allen to headline opposite the former 185 title challenger Marvin Vettori. A win over Vettori would have allowed a window into the division’s top echelon of fighters for Allen as he climbs to the title picture. However, Vettori had to withdraw from the bout due to injury and Allen’s former opponent from 2021 Curtis has stepped in. At UFC Fight Night: Font vs. Aldo, Curtis collected a TKO win over Allen in the 2nd round. This marked Allen’s 2nd loss in the UFC since joining the ranks in 2019.
Allen’s Title Plan
In a recent fight week interview with The Schmo, Allen laid out his title plan and what he expects he can achieve once he gets by Chris Curtis in this revenge fight.
Allen explained: “It’s hard to tell, but hopefully I can get Sean {Strickland} after this. He seems to be the last one available so if I can’t get the champion then Sean is hopefully what I’m after.”
Allen’s comments come on the heels of the rumor mill that champion Dricus Du Plessis may defend vs. Israel Adesanya in Perth at UFC 305. Additionally, the UFC announced that rising contender Khazmat Chimaev is paired up with former champion Robert Whittaker for UFC Saudi Arabia.
The plan checks all the boxes for Allen. A fight vs. Strickland acts as another opportunity for the 28-year-old fighter to avenge a UFC loss. Allen would join Chimaev and potentially Du Plessis in being matched up or rumored to fight a former champion. And an Allen vs. Stickland bout would act as a great step for Allen’s title picture plans at 185.
Allen’s UFC Run
Since 2019, Allen has racked up an impressive 11-2 UFC record. The American’s losses have came by way of former UFC Middleweight Champion Sean Strickland by TKO in 2020 and Curtis a year later. After the loss to Curtis, Allen has put together a lengthy 6 fight win streak that includes names such as Andre Muniz, Paul Craig, and Bruno Silva. All five of these wins came by way of the Rear Naked Choke. Currently, Allen sits at #6 ranked Middleweight in the world before he squares off with #14 ranked Curtis this weekend.
At this moment in time, Allen’s title plan seems like a legitimate possibility.
Setting the Stage for Saturday
Allen and Curtis will headline UFC Vegas 90. The fight offers an interesting matchup with the #14 ranked fighter already holding a win in the octagon over #6 ranked Middleweight in Allen.
Curtis arrived on the UFC scene in 2021 with a 3-fight promotional win streak. The streak included KO wins over Phil Hawes and Allen before trading wins and losses since with division elites like Kelvin Gastelum and Jack Hermansson. Curtis is most recently coming off a split decision win at UFC 297 over Marc-Andre Barriault back in January. Meanwhile, Allen looks to extend his streak since his November 2023 victory over Paul Craig. With a win over Curtis, Allen will look to seek out Strickland for another avenging matchup on his title plan.
