UFC Middleweight Brendan Allen Needs to Fight Elite Opponent

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The main event of UFC Vegas 122, which took place on Saturday, October 10, at Meta Apex in Las Vegas, saw middleweight Brendan Allen earn one of his most impressive wins to date when he submitted Christian Leroy Duncan in the fifth round with a lethal rear-naked choke.

Related: UFC Vegas 122 Predictions for Allen vs. Duncan

With the victory, Allen defended his No. 5 spot in the Meta UFC Rankings over the No. 10-ranked Duncan, and it should, without question, earn him a matchup against someone ranked higher than him, as he closes in on a title shot against UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland.

Brendan Allen Deserves a Step Up

The 30-year-old Allen has won four straight fights over Duncan, Edmen Shahbazyan, Reinier de Ridder, and Marvin Vettori.

Of these four fighters, only de Ridder — who is now fighting in the UFC light heavyweight division — was ranked above Allen when they fought.

Despite defeating de Ridder via fourth-round TKO in a big upset last year, Allen has fought down in competition twice now, against Shahbazyan, whom he beat by unanimous decision, and Duncan, whom he beat by submission.

Brendan Allen is due for a higher-ranked opponent after submitting Christian Leroy Duncan at UFC Vegas 122.Jeff Bottari / Getty Images

Now that Allen has taken care of Duncan, there’s no reason why he shouldn’t be fighting against someone ranked above him for his next fight.

Unfortunately, due to timing, the options might be rather limited at the moment, so he may have to wait it out for someone to become available.

But if I’m Allen and his manager, Ali Abdelaziz, I’m refusing to fight anyone ranked below me in the rankings, as he should only be fighting those ranked ahead of him at this point after ripping off four straight wins.

Brendan Allen vs. Dricus du Plessis Is The Fight to Make

Taking a look at the Meta UFC rankings, these are the fighters currently ranked above Allen: the aforementioned champion Strickland, Khamzat Chimaev, Nassourdine Imavov, and Joe Pyfer.

Strickland is currently involved in a pay dispute with the UFC, but provided that gets taken care of, his next fight and first title defense will likely come against Imavov.

Pyfer, meanwhile, is booked against Joe Pyfer at UFC 335 in December.

That leaves both Chimaev and du Plessis as potential options for Allen to fight, and both opponents make a ton of sense.

Chimaev, the former champ, hasn’t fought since he dropped his belt to Strickland in May, though he has been going on social media on a weekly basis calling out Strickland.

But with the champ likely fighting Imavov next, Chimaev should be free to fight someone else in the meantime, with Allen as a very real possibility.

Du Plessis, too, is an intriguing option for Allen’s next fight, especially since the two men have talked a lot of smack about each other over the past year, with Allen accusing du Plessis of ducking him at various points in time.

Unfortunately, there are whispers that du Plessis is hurt, meaning it would be difficult for Allen to fight him right now, but if he’s available to fight, then this matchup is the one I would book.

If du Plessis is out, though, then Chimaev makes a ton of sense.

Either way, Allen deserves to fight an elite opponent next, and du Plessis and Chimaev are truly the only options that make sense right now.

Let’s see what the UFC matchmakers have up their sleeves, because they are the best at what they do and always make the best fights possible.

But if I’m Allen, I am not fighting anyone ranked below me, and I’m only going to fight ahead of me in the rankings on my quest for UFC gold.

Related: Five UFC Fighters One Win Away from a Title Shot

This story was originally published by Lindys Sports on Oct 11, 2026, where it first appeared in the Other Sports section. Add Lindys Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.