Brendan Allen isn’t worried about what the rankings say heading into UFC Vegas 118. The #4 ranked middleweight is putting his spot on the line against dangerous unranked contender Edmen Shahbazyan on Saturday night.
“To go from unranked to top five is a huge jump, and I’m sure he’s super motivated. It’s kind of like dangling right in front of his face, and my job is to go steal it back,” Allen told reporters including Cageside Press on Wednesday.
“I asked for it. He was the next guy in line that didn’t have a fight. Everyone else had a fight or didn’t want to fight me I guess so he was just the next guy. On a win streak so give him the opportunity. Let’s see.”
Allen (26-7) accepted the matchup with Shahbazyan despite his opponent being unranked and Allen currently holding the #4 spot in the middleweight division. The booking has left many fans questioning why Allen would take such a significant risk against a dangerous opponent with little upside in the rankings.
“I like money. I don’t like sitting out. Sitting out doesn’t do me no good it’s only going to make me worse. I’m only getting older by the day. If I’m not really fighting I’m not training as much or as hard. I need to stay growing, I need to stay improving, stay relevant,” he said.
Allen said he was originally targeted to face former UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis at UFC Vegas 118, but according to Allen, the matchup never materialized after du Plessis declined the fight. That offered some context as to why Allen ultimately accepted a bout against the unranked Shahbazyan despite the risk to his position in the division.
“I was supposed to have Dricus (du Plessis) for this one but he’s a b*tch. Didn’t want to fight,” he said.
When asked why he thinks du Plessis said no to a bout with him Allen cracked a smile.
“Because he’s a b*tch.”
Watch the entire media day scrum with Brendan Allen above. He faces Edmen Shahbazyan at UFC Vegas 118 on Saturday night.
