Brendan
Allen has laid claim to the No. 1 contender spot at
middleweight after his submission win over Paul Craig
in the main event at UFC
Fight Night 232 on Saturday.
Advertisement
Allen thoroughly dominated Craig from the outset of their bout,
notching nearly eight minutes of control time over the course of
two rounds before submitting him in the third. “All In” improved
his winning streak to six, five of which have come via rear-naked
chokes.
Allen called for a title eliminator next in his Octagon
interview, targeting top contenders Robert
Whittaker, Jared
Cannonier and Khamzat
Chimaev.
“I think I deserve it; I’ve earned it,” he said. “I’ve beat
everyone they put in front of me, I finished them. Whoever the UFC
says that is, I don’t care who. Whittaker, Cannonier, ‘C—shot,’ I
don’t care. I’m trying to fight, man. I’m the No. 1 contender. I’m
the best in the world, I’m here to prove it. If you say otherwise,
come show me, don’t tell me.”
Allen reiterated his callout
at the post-fight press conference while clarifying that he has
no preference for opponents. “All In” also shared that as much as
he likes fighting, nothing tops his love for his daughters and
family. If things work out as planned, Allen plans on hanging up
his gloves by the age of 35 to devote all his time to his loved
ones.
“This is just a means to an end,” he said. “Fighting, yeah, I love
to do it, it feels great. I’m super competitive, I’m very blessed,
I’m very thankful to be here but it’s a means to an end. I know
what I want, I know what my final vision is for my life and their
life. And the moment I make that happen is the moment I walk out of
here no matter what happens. I know if everything plays out right,
by 35 I’m gone. I’ll go ahead and say it now, you all can put it on
the record — I’ll walk out of here with a loss and I’ll never
look back whatsoever.”