Brendan Allen looked to defend his recently earned ranking, thirteenth at middleweight, against knockout artist Bruno ‘Blindado’ Silva to kick off the UFC Jacksonville main card.
Allen, who has shot to a 9-2 UFC record in four years, has shown a mix of striking and grappling prowess to win his last four fights, such as knocking out Sam Alvey, submitting Krzysztof Jotko, and out-striking submission artist Andre Muniz before submitting him late in round three. Silva was coming off of the biggest win of his career, a first round violent knockout of middleweight staple Brad Tavares. Before that he had lost two in a row, but being back on the right track put his UFC record at a respectable 4-2 which allowed him to challenge for a ranking against Allen.
Allen came forward to start the bout, jabbing Silva. He came close or landed partially with three headkicks early before shooting for a takedown, which Bruno defended. Allen then landed a big body kick and stormed into the clinch where he landed a sharp elbow. That, or another strike, drew blood from Silva’s nose which leaked, slow but consistent. Mark Goddard warned them for inactivity in the clinch. Allen grabbed a collar tie and hurt Silva with a big knee but Bruno came right back with big shots of his own and hurt Allen. They traded wild combos in the pocket but Bruno got the worst of it and stumbled. Allen tried a takedown but got sprawled out.
Allen kept retreating to the fence and being a wide open target for Silva, but he was once again able to counter with tight hooks and this time he dropped ‘Blindado.’ Brendan Allen jumped on top and dropped down big ground strikes before passing guard to side control, then working to take the back when Silva turtled up. Allen suddenly got a body triangle in and slipped his forearm under the chin. Before Bruno Silva could react the hand was hidden.
BRENDAN ALLEN TURNS THE TABLES!!!!!! 😳😳😳@BrendanAllenMMA | #UFCJacksonville pic.twitter.com/AZwcKyzxDG
— UFC (@ufc) June 24, 2023
Brendan Allen’s fifth straight win was sealed, and his tenth in the UFC overall, as he forced Silva to tap. He showed good sportsmanship to console his opponent before going to celebrate with his cornermen. His post-fight interview had him call his shot of being the middleweight champ in 2024. Allen was full of requests as he called for either Jared Cannonier or Dricus du Plessis next, before also demanding purple Venum shorts for his fight kit and to headline a UFC event in his home state of New Orleans.
Official Result: Brendan Allen def. Bruno Silva by Submission (rear-naked choke) Round 1, 4:39
