Norfolk, VA — Former LFA middleweight champion Brendan Allen was back in action at UFC Norfolk. Against something of a surprising opponent in Tom Breese.
Breese had been out of action since 2018. Once a highly-touted prospect himself, the Birmingham, England native had been dogged by struggles with anxiety and fights falling through.
In that time, Allen joined the UFC, coming in via the Contender Series and winning his debut. And now his sophomore outing, a first round TKO of Breese with some heavy ground n’ pound.
On the victory, Allen told media outlets including Cageside Press that “it’s always great. It’s hard to really put into words the emotions that all this brings. Especially after a moment like that.” His wife being in attendance, and being away from his family for so long in preparation for the fight, certainly added to that emotion. “I’m just super excited to go home, hold my baby girl, kiss my niece, go do stuff with them. See my brother, my family. That’s all that’s on my mind right now. I’m ready to go home.”
With the win, Allen became the first fighter to stop Breese. That’s something he always wants to do, the middleweight said. “I’m trying to be the first person to stop anybody that hasn’t been stopped. I think it shows that I am what people were saying before the hype kind of fell off a little bit after some of my losses.”
Allen admits that there was a point in the past where he didn’t perform well. Prior to his octagon days. But now on a six-fight win streak, he said that “I finally hit my stride, I finally found myself, I finally feel good about what I’m doing. I’m totally confident, so I think it’s starting to come back. I’m at a good point in my life right now, and I think it shows.”
The unassuming middleweight fighting out of Louisiana refers to himself as “just another guy” and “nothing special,” and certainly has a laid back demeanor. So the loss of that aforementioned hype doesn’t rankle him any — though he admits that wasn’t always the case.
“It did when I was younger. As I’m getting older, I don’t really care,” said Allen. “I’m just focused on me, winning fights, and handing my check to that beautiful lady in the back. And go see my daughter. I try not to think too much into this. It’s a sport, it’s a job, it’s fun, it’s nice. I’m very blessed to be at this level. Very blessed to be doing what I’m doing.”
Reiterating his “just another guy” stance, Allen added that “I’m just me. I don’t need a million people to follow me or a million people to pat my back, or anything like that. I’ve got a great, great, great family at home. Whether I’m on top of my high horse or whether I’m falling in a ditch, they’ll always be there. So I’m not worried about anything.”
Watch the full UFC Norfolk post-fight press scrum with Brendan Allen above!
