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‘Popped a Lot of Things in My Ankle’- Despite Dominant Win at UFC Vegas 82, Brendan Allan Reveals Getting Into ‘Hairy’ Position Against Paul Craig

Published 11/19/2023, 12:15 PM EST

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Brendan Allen is a serious contender in the middleweight division. After a dominant victory over Paul Craig at UFC Vegas 82, Allen is on a six-fight winning streak in the UFC. After two rounds of mauling his opponent on the ground, the American made short work of Craig and finished him via a rear naked choke hold in the third round.

And after this lopsided victory, the 27-year-old called for a no.1 title contender match. However, there was one moment where Allen looked to be in trouble, which he talked about after the fight, giving Craig credit for surprising him.

Brendan Allen recounts Craig nearly breaking his ankle

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In the post-UFC Vegas 82 show, the BJJ black belt revealed he was not expecting his opponent to go for his legs and put him in a compromising position by putting him in a calf slicer. Allen revealed that he could feel his ankle popping after Craig grabbed hold of it, but his experience helped him endure it.

“I wasn’t expecting him to go for my legs… I wanted to go for his back. But he made me eat my words a little bit with that. I came out with the win. I got in one position there that was a little hairy, but I’m not new to this, I’m true to this. Just another day,” Allen said.

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Allen revealed that he had been in bad positions plenty of times in grappling tournaments, which gave him the confidence to power through the calf slicer. “Things were popping. But I think I’ve popped a lot of things in my ankles before… You know he’s not wrenching anymore, nothing else is going to happen,” he added.

And after his one-sided victory over Craig and a six-fight winning streak, the grappling maestro has called for a number-one contender match for the middleweight title, stating that he would face whoever the UFC puts in front of him.

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Allen calls for No.1 title contender match

After the fight, Brendan Allen said that he thought he had earned a number-one contender shot for the title. Having beaten everyone the UFC has put in front of, the American felt he deserved to fight for the title soon. This, however, does not seem likely in the near future.

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#1-ranked middleweight Dricus Du Plessis will fight champion Sean Strickland at UFC 297 in January next year. Khamzat Chimaev will most probably be next as he was the first in line for a title shot after his UFC 295 victory. However, an injury forced him to pass up UFC 297, which then went to ‘DDP’.

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Written by:

Kanishk Thakur

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One take at a time

Hi, I am Kanishk and I am a UFC Writer at EssentiallySports. I love telling the stories of these magnificent fighters and this wildly unpredictable sport that is so frustrating and yet so joyous at the same time. I never really used to watch MMA, thinking it too crude or brutal a sport to deserve respect.
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Edited by:

Abhishek Kumar Das