Jacksonville, FL — Middleweight standout Brendan Allen got back in the win column in a big way at UFC 261 on Saturday.
Allen (16-4), a former LFA middleweight champ, submitted Karl Roberson with an ankle lock on the televised prelims of the Florida card. On a night full of big finishes, it may have been one of the most underrated stoppages of the night.
“I just found out I’m the tenth person to ever hit a straight ankle in the UFC, so that’s pretty cool I guess,” Allen told media outlets including Cageside Press following the win. Lacking the suit he’d rocked during the event’s media day, Allen joked that “I only look like this three times a year, maybe four, so I’m going to show it off a little.”
Ahead of the fight, Allen had proclaimed that he was better than any of the middleweights the division had to offer. Asked at Saturday’s post-fight press conference whether he’d done enough to prove that, “All In” replied “I don’t know. Someone’s always going to have something to say. This sport, all these great fans we have are always having something to say. Someone’s always talking sh*t somehow.” Instead of paying attention to that, “I just stay in my lane, do what I need to do, keep my head down, and just do what my coaches tell me to do when it comes time to train and get better and improve,” Allen continued. “That’s all I’m trying to do, is grow.”
Allen has been working with Sanford MMA, and he gave the gym plenty of credit following the win. “I’ve been gone the whole year so far from home, and I feel like I’ve grown a lot in many different places in my game. I’m very happy, I was very calm tonight.” Getting the octagon Saturday “just felt normal,” he added.
Moving forward, Allen is looking at the winner of Sean Strickland vs. Krzysztof Jotko, hopefully “in July, some point in July.” With that pick, Allen is looking to get back his loss last year to Strickland.
Watch the full UFC 261 post-fight press conference with Brendan Allen above.
