Las Vegas — Middleweight Brendan Allen went the distance in Saturday’s UFC Vegas 118 co-main event, coming away with a decision win, and sharing in the Fight of the Night bonus with opponent Edmen Shahbazyan.
Speaking with media outlets including Cageside Press following the bout, Allen (27-7) reflected on the 15-minute war, and compared his performance against Shahbazyan’s to champ Sean Strickland’s.
“Sometimes you gotta just be a dog and walk him. And that’s what I did, I walked him down, walked him down. That’s what I was doing. Sean won off of staying on his back foot and throwing a jab, but I’m going to give you some power shots, make it dirty.”
In the end, Allen was thoroughly upbeat about his performance. “It was fun. I hope everyone enjoyed it. That’s what I come to do, I come to fight no matter what. Win or lose, I’m coming to fight. I guess I’m not the most likeable guy, I don’t got the most followers or none of that, but I can f*cking fight. I’m 15-4 in this promotion, I’ve fought the best guys I can fight. He was young, he’s motivated as f*ck, he’s a very skilled guy, and he earned his shot.”
Allen added that “he pushed me, he made me find a new version of myself. He motivated me, so hats off to Edmen.”
What comes next for Brendan Allen is anyone’s guess. He’s long been on the outskirts of the title picture at 185lbs, and is currently riding a three-fight win streak. Yet sitting in the #4 spot in the division, there are still a few names ahead of him in line.
“Man it’s hard to say. I don’t think I deserve anything. I try to earn everything I get. F*ck, I hope Sean goes out, he’s the champion, so hopefully he picks me,” exclaimed Allen. “Let’s run this sh*t back. It’s been six years since we fought, I think I was beating him going into it.”
Brendan Allen lost to current champ Sean Strickland by TKO back in November 2020, but added that if you watch their fight from different angles, it shows that Strickland didn’t land on him “with the strikes said. It wasn’t there.”
“I think I get him out of there now. I think Edmen’s a better version of him. He’s younger, he’s more technical, he’s faster. I think Edmen’s a better version of him, and I think I get Sean out of there, and new.”
If not, Allen is open to fighting Nassourdine Imavov, who he also has a loss to, or the winner of Dricus Du Plessis vs. Kamaru Usman. “We’ll see. Right now I’m going to go get these injuries checked, I’m going to talk with Hunter [Campbell, UFC Chief Business Officer], and we’ll see what’s next.”
Watch the full UFC Vegas 118 post-fight press conference with Brendan Allen above.
