John Allan made his UFC debut on two weeks notice at UFC Sacramento, and picked up a win over the hard-hitting Mike Rodriguez.
A light-heavyweight battle between Mike Rodriguez and John Allan closed out the UFC Sacramento prelims on Saturday. Former Contender Series fighter Rodriguez was coming off a win over Adam Milstead via TKO last December heading into the fight. Prior to that win however he lost to Devin Clark in his UFC debut at UFC 223.
Brazil’s John Allan, meanwhile, made his debut at UFC Sacramento. The Chute Box member was coming off of a win opposite Alexandere Silva last month at Future FC 6. Allan got the call to fight Rodriguez on short notice after Gian Villante pulled out due to injury. Allan was quickly signed to the UFC and took the fight on only two weeks notice.
Rodriguez started the fight by using his freakish reach advantage, allowing him to land jabs and leg kicks to boot. Anytime Allan would back up into the fence, Rodriguez would land some hard punches through Allan’s guard, a couple of which staggered him at times. However, Rodriguez would try and pressure Allan into the fence again, which lead to him getting clinched and taken down. Allan would look for a guillotine, but couldn’t get it. The rest of the round was pretty anticlimactic until Rodriguez hit Allan with a groin strike at the last second of the round. But after a brief rest, we went to round two.
Rodriguez blasted off some kicks to the body to start the second round. Rodriguez would back Allan up to the fence and land a combination that seemed to stun him. However, Allan would take him down and end up in full mount. Rodriguez would find his way to his feet, and Allan would once again shoot but would end up on the bottom this time. Rodriguez would spend some time in the guard, however, Allan would look for an armbar. The armbar would fail and Rodriguez would once again end up on top, where he would finish out the round.
The third round would immediately start with a knee to the groin by Rodriguez, the second groin strike of the fight. Allan would go down to his knees where he would rest for a bit. Following the rest, Allan would bring the pressure, and although Rodriguez would land some combinations, he was on the back foot. Allan would take Rodriguez down, and get the back. Rodriguez would back up to the fence, where he would find his way back up. Allan would pour on the pressure, as Rodriguez was clearly gassed. Rodriguez would survive after getting hit with multiple shots, however, he would get taken down. That is where the fight would end.
Allan was one of the bigger underdogs on the card, and despite taking the fight on two weeks notice showcased some great grappling and heart. It’ll be interesting to see where he goes from here.
John Allan def. Mike Rodriguez by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
