Brendan Allen Achieves the Most Important Victory of His Career at UFC Fight Night
In an action-packed night in Vancouver, UFC middleweight Brendan Allen secured the most significant victory of his career by stopping Reinier de Ridder in the fourth round. Allen, who accepted the fight on short notice, demonstrated his determination and superiority in the octagon. Allen (26-7) fulfilled his promise to defeat De Ridder (21-3), exhausting him on the canvas and forcing his corner to throw in the towel between the fourth and fifth rounds. This victory interrupted De Ridder’s four-fight winning streak in the UFC, which began last November. Originally, De Ridder was scheduled to face Anthony Hernandez, but Allen stepped in after Hernandez withdrew due to injury.The Louisiana fighter had a difficult start in the first round, but quickly changed the course. Despite suffering a takedown and defending submissions, he dominated the grappling exchanges in the following rounds. Allen accumulated more than 11 minutes of control and connected 128 total strikes, compared to De Ridder’s 51, according to UFC statistics. De Ridder could barely stand at the end of the fourth round and struggled to return to his corner. Referee Jason Herzog closely examined De Ridder between rounds before his team made the decision to stop the fight. Immediately after the fight, Allen called out UFC middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev, as well as former champions Dricus Du Plessis and Sean Strickland, whom he lost to in 2020.“I feel good about doing exactly what I said I would do. This was three and a half weeks off the couch. I told you I’m a different monster, when I have a clear head and we’re on it, I’m the best in the world,” Allen declared.
Brendan Allen
Allen arrived at Saturday’s main event as the UFC’s number 9 middleweight, while De Ridder held the number 4 position. In the co-main event, Canadian welterweight Mike Malott (13-2-1) achieved a notable decision victory over Kevin Holland (28-15). Aiemann Zahabi (14-2) continued to climb the bantamweight rankings with a decision victory over former champion Marlon Vera (23-11-1) by split decision.“Chimaev, if you want a good grappler, someone young and hungry, you got it, baby. Dricus, where are you? I’ve been trying to get to you for a minute. If not, Sean, it’s time to run it back,” Allen affirmed.
Brendan Allen
