UFC Vegas 122 results: Brendan Allen stuns Christian Leroy Duncan with late choke, calls out ex-cham

Brendan Allen continues to be middleweight's ultimate dark horse spoiler.

Sticking true to form, Allen emerged as the winner of another grueling war of attrition Saturday night inside the Meta Apex in Las Vegas, submitting the red-hot Christian Leroy Duncan with a fifth-round rear-naked choke in the main event of UFC Vegas 122. The American started slow but ultimately rode a steadfast wrestling attack to secure the stoppage at the 2:46 mark of the final frame.

With the win, Allen (28-7) extends his UFC win streak to four straight.

"I'm steady, defending my spot, doing what I need to do," a relieved Allen said post-fight. "The bosses see me doing that thing, and I think we'll be rewarded next. Fight the champion, and if not, where's [Dricus du Plessis]? He's been running for a little while."

Allen, 30, sought to drag Duncan (15-3) to the mat from the opening bell, however the surging Englishman — who entered Saturday's contest riding a five-fight win streak — defended well in the early going and peppered Allen with thudding blows in response. Allen stuck to his game plan though, eventually working Duncan over on the ground for long swathes of the second and third rounds to reclaim control of the fight.

Duncan, 31, dug himself into an even deeper hole when referee Marc Goddard penalized him a point for illegal eye-pokes in the opening exchanges of the second.

But the Englishman refused to go down without a fight. Duncan responded by massively upping his volume in the fourth stanza, outstriking a suddenly much more passive Allen by a whopping 46-17 margin in significant strikes over the five-minute period. The momentum shift left Allen complaining of rib pain to his cornermen between rounds and appeared to give Duncan a second wind, although it was ultimately short-lived, as Allen returned to his bread-and-butter wrestling in the fifth round and found the stoppage.

With consecutive victories over Marvin Vettori, Reinier de Ridder, a streaking Edmen Shahbazyan and now Duncan, Allen likely earned himself a highly ranked name next.

"He's tougher than I thought, I got the job done," said Allen.

"I come here to fight, man. I've been super active. I fought these young guys, two young guys in their careers [Shahbazyan and Duncan], two hungry, hungry prospects back-to-back, because nobody else wanted to fight. And yeah man, they're tough."

Check out complete UFC Vegas 122 results and highlights below.

Main card

Middleweight: Brendan Allen def. Christian Leroy Duncan via submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:46 of R5 | Watch finish

Lightweight: Matheus Camilo def. Jai Herbert via unanimous decision (29–28, 29–28, 29–28)

117-pound catchweight: Loopy Godínez def. Ketlen Souza via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

Featherweight: Andre Fili def. Kai Kamaka III via KO (head kick) at :22 of R2 | Watch brutal KO

Bantamweight: Otari Tanzilovi def. Malcolm Wellmaker via KO (head kick and punches) at 2:39 of R2 | Watch finish

Preliminary card

Light heavyweight: Julius Walker def. Gerald Meerschaert via TKO (punches) at 3:35 of R2 | Meerschaert retires | Watch finish

163.5-pound catchweight: Francisco Prado def. Ismael Bonfim via TKO (punches) at 4:23 of R1 | Watch finish

Welterweight: Niko Price def. Leon Shahbazyan via TKO (punch and knee) at 1:58 of R1 | Watch Price win then retire

208.5-pound catchweight: Brendson Ribeiro def. Felipe Franco via submission (mounted guillotine) at 1:49 of R1 | Watch finish

Heavyweight: Allen Frye def. RJ Harris via KO (punches) at 2:59 of R1 | Watch finish

Women's bantamweight: Alice Pereira def. Daria Zhelezniakova via TKO (doctor stoppage) at 5:00 of R1 | Watch Zhelezniakova wave off the fight

Women's flyweight: Melissa Gatto vs. Ernesta Kareckaite ends in majority draw (29-27, 28-28, 28-28)