After winning his second UFC main event by stoppage, Brendan Allen wants a No. 1 contender fight next time he steps into the octagon.
At the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Allen (23-5 MMA, 11-2 UFC) faced Paul Craig (17-7-1 MMA, 9-7-1 UFC) in a key middleweight bout. The winner of the UFC Fight Night 232 headliner would likely move on to face one of the top names in the division, and Allen made sure he would be the one to be able to call his shot after submitting Craig at 0:38 of Round 3.
The fight started at a methodical pace with both fighters looking to find the range. Allen was more active and accurate with his strikes, and then Craig found an entry to initiate a clinch battle. Allen prevented a takedown and hit a toss of his own, transitioning into full mount. Intense scrambles for submission soon followed as Allen had a rear-naked choke, but Craig countered with a calf slicer. A battle to lock up lower limbs resulted in more changes of position, with Allen setting in back on top.
