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Brett Okamoto
The UFC middleweight Brendan Allen achieved the most significant victory of his career on Saturday, defeating Reinier de Ridder in the fourth round at UFC Fight Night in Vancouver.
Although he accepted the match on short notice, Allen (26-7) declared he would dismantle de Ridder (21-3) and fulfilled that promise. He depleted de Ridder on the mat and compelled de Ridder’s corner to throw in the towel between the fourth and fifth rounds.
This outcome brought an end to de Ridder’s four-fight winning streak in the UFC, which had started last November. He was initially slated to compete against Anthony Hernandez, but Allen filled in after Hernandez withdrew due to an injury.
«It feels great to achieve exactly what I said I would,» Allen stated. «This was me three and a half weeks off the couch. I told you I’m a different beast; when my mind is clear and everything’s in line, I am the best globally.»
Allen, hailing from Louisiana, encountered a tough beginning in the first round but rapidly turned the momentum around. He conceded a takedown early on and spent a good portion of the round fending off submission attempts, yet dominated the grappling exchanges in the second, third, and fourth rounds. Allen accumulated over 11 minutes of control time and landed 128 total strikes compared to de Ridder’s 51, according to UFC Stats.
At the conclusion of the fourth round, de Ridder could barely stand and found it challenging to return to his corner. Referee Jason Herzog closely monitored de Ridder between rounds before his corner ultimately decided to concede. Directly after the fight, Allen called out UFC middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev, as well as former champions Dricus Du Plessis and Sean Strickland, whom he faced off with in 2020.
«Chimaev, if you’re looking for a skilled grappler, someone youthful and driven, you found him, baby,» Allen declared. «Dricus, where are you at? I’ve been trying to get at you for some time. If not, Sean, let’s set it up again.»
Allen entered Saturday’s main event ranked ninth in the UFC middleweight division. De Ridder held the fourth spot.
In the co-main event, Canadian welterweight Mike Malott (13-2-1) secured a prominent win against Kevin Holland (28-15) via decision.
Aiemann Zahabi (14-2) continued his rise in the bantamweight division with a split decision victory over former title contender Marlon Vera (23-11-1).
