Brendan Allen acquired a measure of revenge in his rematch with Chris Curtis after securing a hard-fought break up choice win within the UFC Vegas 90 primary occasion.
Initially matched up with Marvin Vettori, who suffered an harm knocking him off the cardboard, Allen ended up with Curtis as an opponent as an alternative on brief discover after falling to him by knockout of their first encounter again in 2021. This time round, the middleweights went to warfare for 25 minutes in a back-and-forth battle the place each had their moments.
In the long run, Allen’s skill to attain dominant positions together with his grappling after which a last alternate the place he unleashed a barrage of pictures to the shut the combat helped him safe the win. Two judges scored the combat 49-46 and 48-47 for Allen with the third official going 48-47 for Curtis
That was nonetheless sufficient for Allen to get the nod as he earns his seventh win in row total and continues his climb up the rankings at 185 kilos.
“Chris is hard as s***,” Allen stated about his opponent. “He’s brief, it’s robust to get pictures on him. Brief discover, hats off to Chris.”
Some early hanging success for Allen, together with a nasty physique kick to open the combat, led to a slick takedown the place he instantly took Curtis’ again. Allen acquired the physique triangle locked on however Curtis ultimately scrambled free to get again to his ft.
With Curtis seeking to shut the space, Allen used a jab to again off his opponent as they continued buying and selling punches. Regardless of being recognized for his grappling prowess, Allen actually confirmed off the fixed enchancment together with his palms as he tagged Curtis with a number of stinging pictures, particularly within the second spherical.
A tough left hand backed Curtis off throughout one alternate however Allen refused to go wild in an try and get the end, opting as an alternative to measure his punches and search for the perfect opening attainable. Curtis responded by digging to the physique together with his combos after which going again up prime to the pinnacle.
The power to attract Allen into extra of a brawl allowed Curtis to begin connecting with extra regularity. Halfway by the third spherical, Curtis clipped Allen with a tough shot that put him on wobbly legs momentarily however he rapidly countered with a takedown.
From there, Allen jumped on the again as Curtis stood to his ft as he defended the submission makes an attempt because the middleweights leaned in opposition to the cage.
On the restart within the fourth spherical, Curtis continued to ask extra boxing exchanges with Allen the place he was sometimes touchdown the cleaner pictures. Allen ultimately dragged the combat all the way down to the bottom the place he lastly maintained management and truly labored his option to the mount however ran out of time earlier than he may actually do a lot harm to Curtis on the canvas.
With 5 minutes remaining, Allen saved turning to his grappling however Curtis defended nicely and refused to surrender a foul place. Curtis appeared just like the more energizing fighter however he couldn’t preserve Allen off his legs as he lastly acquired him down once more earlier than taking the again.
Curtis ultimately escaped however with time working out, Allen exploded ahead with an enormous leaping knee and a flurry of strikes that allowed him to shut the combat in emphatic vogue. Replays confirmed that Curtis appeared to a undergo a hamstring harm that left him unable to essentially defend himself in that last alternate, though he didn’t drop to the canvas till the combat was over.
Curtis needed to be propped up by his coaches as the choice was learn and he ultimately hobbled out of the octagon earlier than leaving the sector on a stretcher. There was no speedy replace on his situation after the combat.
As for Allen, he celebrated a gritty win over an opponent who already held a knockout win over him up to now. With seven straight wins, Allen now hopes that he’ll both enter the dialog for gold or maybe he’ll get to avenge the one different loss he has within the UFC.
“The place’s that title shot?” Allen shouted. “Ain’t no person acquired the streak I acquired. What’s up? Dricus [du Plessis] you recognize I’m going to whoop that ass. Come get this enterprise. If I can’t get Dricus, Sean [Strickland] let’s run it again.”
