A pair of middleweight prospects will collide at UFC 261 in April, hoping to get back in the win column.
As first reported by MMA Junkie, Dana White’s Contender Series contract winners Brendan Allen and Karl Roberson will fight at the PPV event on April 24. Allen later confirmed the booking on social media.
Allen (15-4) suffered his fight UFC loss in November when he was finished via TKO by Sean Strickland at UFC Fight Night: Felder vs. dos Anjos. Before his loss, he had gone 2-0 in 2020. He kicked off his year with a dominant win over Tom Breese, battering him with elbows and punches to win via TKO. “All In” returned four months later to welcome Kyle Daukaus to the UFC and defeated him in a unanimous decision. Allen does hold a win over No. 10 ranked middleweight Kevin Holland, who he beat in his UFC debut.
Roberson (9-3) had his two-fight win streak snapped when he was submitted in the first round by Marvin Vettori. “Baby K” was supposed to return in December at UFC 256, but a positive COVID test stopped him. He had previously beaten Roman Kopylov and Wellington Turman in 2019.
UFC 261 is shaping up very nicely and now looks like:
- Rose Namajunas vs. Zhang Weili
- Valentina Shevchenko vs. Jessica Andrade
- Uriah Hall vs. Chris Weidman
- Jimmy Crute vs. Anthony Smith
- Danaa Batgerel vs. Kevin Natividad
- Brendan Allen vs. Karl Roberson
The UFC has not announced a location or venue for the April pay-per-view.
