It’s been eight months since No. 4 middleweight Brendan Allen saw any action. Despite calling out Dricus Du Plessis after his win over Reinier de Ridder in October at UFC Vancouver, Allen didn’t hear back from the South African. So, he grew impatient and accepted the fight against unranked Edmen Shahbazyan. But the American claims a fight against ‘Stillknocks’ was close until Du Plessis faked an injury. 

“Because he’s a b—h,” Allen told MMA Fighting. “It was supposed to be a done deal in January. I was told it was a done deal. Dricus [and I were] done, and then they said he got hurt and he’s not fighting until July. At that time, it was supposed to be around May that I was told that I would fight him… I think it may have been somewhere in April, because then it got moved to May, [and] then they said he got hurt.

“But he posted training videos the next week, so I don’t know. I kind of think I was a little bit finessed, to be honest with you, and I don’t know by [whom]. I’m not saying it was by anyone in particular, but that’s what I feel.”

While it’s unclear who informed Allen about Dricus Du Plessis’ alleged injury, there haven’t been any reports recently or around that time that ‘Stillknocks’ had suffered an injury. However, a glance through his Instagram timeline makes it clear that he had been posting training media regularly around the same time and appeared injury-free. 

However, ‘DDP’ had to undergo a nasal surgery to correct his deviated septum in 2023. And last year, there were rumors about a shin break before his fight against Khamzat Chimaev. At the time, Chimaev and Caio Borralho, who were hoping to face DDP, had claimed he was injured. Back to Allen, though, he didn’t want to wait around for Du Plessis to get back in the cage. 

“And then I asked for Usman,” he added. “Like, let me fight Usman then, since [du Plessis is] hurt, he’s ready to go, let me fight him. I want to fight him. And that didn’t come to fruition. I asked for many other guys. Those didn’t come to fruition. I got sick of waiting, needed the money, and I took the guy who was on a win streak and didn’t have a fight.”

It’s understandable that he would be upset about not getting the ‘DDP’ fight. But in reality, it may have just been Allen who wanted the fight. Because the UFC never confirmed it. It remains unclear who led Allen to believe he would face the South African, but from the UFC’s perspective, matching a rising prospect like Allen against the South African star made little sense. 

For them, it would make more sense to match DDP against an established name. This is a possibility that has been the subject of speculation in recent weeks.

DDP may end up fighting a welterweight legend next

According to various reports, there are some rumors that Du Plessis will face Kamaru Usman in UFC Oklahoma City. The bout could happen in July, but the promotion hasn’t confirmed it as of the time of writing. If this bout happens, it will be Usman’s second fight in the middleweight division.

Usman previously stepped in on short notice to face Khamzat Chimaev and lost by majority decision. Despite the defeat, he delivered an impressive performance under the circumstances. Usman is now 39, hasn’t fought in a year and will face a bigger guy.

On the other hand, Du Plessis is coming off a one-sided loss to Khamzat Chimaev. So, considering all that, there’s little chance Usman is winning the bout. However, it would be interesting to see how the fight unfolds.

The UFC has yet to officially confirm the matchup, but with the recently announced Conor McGregor vs. Max Holloway fight, Dricus Du Plessis vs. Kamaru Usman could be the promotion’s next major announcement.