Jacksonville, FL — Middleweight Brendan Allen feels he as an advantage on the mat this weekend at UFC 261. Not only that, but he believes opponent Karl Roberson is aware of that fact, too.
“If it goes to the ground, he knows I know he’s in trouble. 100%,” Allen (15-4) said during this week’s UFC 261 media day. “I don’t think he can keep me away from there for three rounds. I don’t even think it’s possible for him to keep me from getting him on the ground within three rounds. I only need a short time on the ground, and I think I can put him away.”
Even if Roberson gets up from an early takedown, added Allen, “that’s fine, there’s still two more rounds to go. You’ve still got to weather through that.”
Ahead of the fight, a former opponent, Kevin Holland, was actually singing Allen’s praises a little, suggesting he was a better fighter than Marvin Vettori or Derek Brunson, two of the top middleweights in the division. Roberson, for his part, dismissed that statement. Allen, on the other hand, replied by saying that “I truly believe that in my heart, that I’m better than a lot of these guys, if not all of them on the roster.”
Of course, Allen is aware that he’s coming off a loss. “I had a setback in the last one [against Sean Strickland]. Just a slip-up on my part,” he stated. “It is what it is, hopefully we can run that one back.”
Allen revealed that he tried to step up and fight Marvin Vettori, in the fight that saw Kevin Holland eventually step in. “I feel I’m better than all these guys, it’s just up to me to go in and show that. To show what I already know and what my teammates know.”
Watch the full UFC 261 media day scrum with Brendan Allen above. The event takes place this Saturday, April 24 at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida. The main card airs live on PPV.
