JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Up until now, it’s mostly been about dates, not opponents, for rising middleweight contender Brendan Allen.
“I’m the kind of guy that kind of set my schedule to where it’s the timeline I kind of want to fight on,” Allen told MMA Junkie and other reporters at a UFC on ABC 5 news conference Wednesday. “It’s never exact, because the UFC is going to tell you exactly when you’re going to fight. But I kind of have my typical month. I have everything mapped out to where I want to fight there (and) I kind of need to fight there, so no matter what, I’m going to fight there.”
Allen (21-5 MMA, 9-2 UFC) fights Bruno Silva (23-8 MMA, 4-2 UFC) at Saturday’s event. The card takes place at Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena with the main card airing on ABC after prelims on ESPN/ESPN+.
While the schedule was the axis by which Allen revolved his career, he always hoped for opponents that make him nervous. Silva fits that bill.
“I want someone I know is good that can potentially finish me or hurt me,” Allen said. “I want that. That makes me hungry. That makes me want to get up, no matter how I’m feeling, and go to the gym. That’s kind of why I try to fight the best guys that I can get my hands on. Obviously, circumstances happen and sometimes you fight someone else. At this level, everyone is good, especially now that I have a number next to my name. People want that number, if I’m fighting down. With a win on Saturday night, I ain’t fighting down no more.”
After his fight Saturday, which could mark his ninth promotional victory, Allen intends to turn his attention toward the upper echelon of the division. With a victory, he’ll have won five straight fights. Allen figures then it’ll be time to angle for specific opponents.
“After this, I think I’ve done enough fighting back and defending my spot,” Allen said. “Because even technically when I wasn’t in the rankings, I had to beat 16 or 17. I was defending that constantly. I don’t see a need to look down anymore.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ABC 5.
