SUNRISE, Fla. – Brendan Allen expected a better name for his next fight at UFC on ABC 5.
Allen (21-5 MMA, 9-2 UFC) originally was scheduled to headline UFC on ESPN 45 against Jack Hermansson on June 3, but the bout was scrapped when Hermansson withdrew due to injury.
Now Allen has been booked June 24 in Jacksonville, Fla., against Bruno Silva (14-5-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC), who snapped a two-fight skid with a TKO of Brad Tavares at UFC Fight Night 222 in April. To go from ranked Hermansson to Silva was disappointing for Allen, who’s won four in a row.
“Honestly, I don’t think he deserves the spot,” Allen told MMA Junkie. “But hey man, this is where you get opportunities, and you’ve got to take full advantage. I know he’s coming to take full advantage of the opportunity, but I’m not looking past him and he’s the man that’s got to get the business.”
Allen hopes a win over Silva will lead to another booking against a ranked opponent – and he particularly has his eyes on Dricus Du Plessis. Du Plessis is matched up against Robert Whittaker at UFC 290 on July 8, but Allen doubts he will get past him.
“My goal is to go out there and beat Bruno. I expect Whittaker to beat up Dricus, then I’m going to get Dricus next,” Allen said. “He’d still be at No. 6. I think I’m right there in the top five. He’s No. 6. So it looks realistic for me to go out here, beat Bruno, and then fight Dricus at the end of the year and beat the sh*t out of him, too.”
Du Plessis is unbeaten in the UFC and on the cusp of a title shot if he gets past former champion Whittaker, but Allen isn’t sold on his game.
“I think Dricus is the luckiest fighter in the UFC,” Allen said. “His first two fights, he was getting his ass kicked and he just pulled out a shot. I think he’s the luckiest guy, so he might make me eat my words and get one shot and drop him. But honestly, I don’t think that’s going to happen.
“I think Whittaker is too good all around, fought some of the best guys in the whole world, and he’s so tricky to figure out. I don’t think Dricus is smart enough to be able to figure that out, and I don’t think he has the attributes to beat him.”
