Brendan
Allen believes a middleweight title shot should be in his
immediate future if he defeats upcoming opponent Marvin
Vettori.
Allen (23-5), the No. 7-ranked
Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight, is scheduled to
headline
UFC Fight Night 240 against the No. 5-ranked perennial Italian
contender on April 6 at the UFC Apex in Vegas.
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“All-In” believes a victory over Vettori (19-7) will propel him to
title contention or at the least secure him a shot at the No. 1
title contender spot.
“I feel it’s based on my performance,” the
28-year-old told MMA Junkie. “I think if I go out there and
finish him and make it look easy, I think I drop my name in the hat
for a title shot. But worst case scenario, a true No. 1 contender
fight is after that. I really think it just comes down to me. It’s
really up to me.
“I think overall, I think this is my fight to lose. I think I’m
better in every single place the fight can go. The guy is
definitely tough. He can sure take a beating, but I’ve shown I can
give one. I really don’t put any emphasis on any of it. I just need
to go out there and be me and see where the cards fall.”
Allen is currently riding a six-fight winning streak, including
five submission wins with his most recent one coming against fellow
submission artist Paul Craig
at
UFC Fight Night 232 in November.
Meanwhile, Vettori has gone 3-3 in his last six, only coming up
short against elite competition.
Allen would have preferred a title shot against Sean
Strickland, who handed him a Round 2 technical knockout loss
back in 2020, but he wouldn’t mind fighting newly crowned champ
Dricus Du
Plessis.
“I was hoping it would be Sean to run that back, but I don’t mind
it being [Dricus] either. I’ve been wanting to fight him since he
got to the UFC, and he’s been steady flying by and taking the easy
fights. It is what it is. He got the belt off it, but did he earn
it? Is it his belt? To each their own. But no, it does not matter
who’s champ when it’s my turn.”