Brendan Allen laments he ‘fought like sh*t’ at UFC Paris but ‘I still think I’ll be champion one day’
Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
Brendan Allen offered no excuses for a poor performance at UFC Paris that led to the end of his seven fight win streak after falling to Nassourdine Imavov by unanimous decision.
It was a strong start but a rough finish for Allen on Saturday after he scored an early takedown on Imavov to control him throughout the opening round. Unfortunately, Allen just couldn’t find the same level of success in the next two rounds as Imavov stuffed his grappling attempts and won the majority of the exchanges on the feet.
In the end, Imavov won with all three judges scoring the fight 29-28 across the board.
“It wasn’t my night tonight,” Allen wrote on Instagram. “Made bad decisions. Bad adjustments. I did something wrong and hat’s off to Imavov. It was his night, it wasn’t mine. It sucks. I’m disappointed in myself. But luckily I’m young, I’ll be back. Try to be better. Thanks to everyone for the support, thanks for the love. I still think I’ll be champion one day but just another long journey to the top again.”
In a separate post, Allen once again placed the blame on himself for a bad night at the office while revealing his potential timeline for a return to action.
“A game of ups and downs and shoulda woulda coulda’s,” Allen said. “Fought like shit and lost a close decision to a top five guy in his home. I will be back even better next March or April.”
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While certainly not the result he wanted, Allen may not lose a ton of ground in the middleweight division thanks to Imavov’s sudden rise up the ranks.
Since falling to future UFC champion Sean Strickland back in 2023, Imavov has gone undefeated in his past four fights including a win over one-time title challenger Jared Cannonier back in June, which set him up for the co-main event slot at the card in Paris on Saturday.
Following his win, Imavov called for a title shot, although it’s tough to imagine that wish is granted right now given the landscape at 185 pounds.
