Before he became a ranked UFC middleweight, Brendan Allen nearly walked away from fighting forever. “No matter what, if I lost before I got to the UFC, I wouldn’t fight anymore,” Allen once told UFC.com. Those weren’t words of arrogance, but of resolve, the kind that comes from a man who’s seen how fragile life can be. And that realization didn’t come from inside a cage. It came from a swimming pool incident in 2013.

Fast forward to today, and Allen is set to headline UFC Vancouver on October 18, against Reinier de Ridder. It’s a career-defining moment, yet behind every punch and submission attempt lies a story, because long before he was ‘All In,’ Brendan Allen was just a young man watching his big brother’s life change forever.

Who is Brendan Allen’s brother & what happened in his accident?

“October 11th, 2013 was the day that changed my family’s life forever,” Brendan Allen said in a 2019 interview. It began as an ordinary day, and the Allen brothers decided to take a swim. However, that’s when tragedy struck as he continued, “He dove and I didn’t know he hit his head on the bottom of the pool because he is 6’6″. He sunk to the bottom.”

Allen dove in after him as he continued, “pulled him to the side and started CPR. He wasn’t breathing. It’s all the way down to his chest. I could see it was completely blue. For a few horrifying moments, Brendan Allen thought his brother was gone. “They told me basically he was dead because we couldn’t really feel a pulse.”

But James Allen Jr., a retired military veteran, survived. Doctors later revealed devastating injuries: damage to his C4, C5, and C6 vertebrae. As his brother explained, “His spinal cord has popped and like a rubber band it retracted and it’s all wrapped around. He’s paralyzed from his chest up and can’t use his fingers. He can just move his arms and his wrists so.”

The accident happened while James was home on military leave, less than 24 hours after returning. What followed was a decade of surgeries, infections, and countless hospital stays. Yet through it all, James refused to give up, showing the same grit his brother would one day display in the Octagon.

How Brendan Allen’s brother supports his UFC career

It’s easy to look at Brendan Allen and see only the fighter with 13 UFC wins and the might of an elite middleweight. But beneath that surface lies something deeper: perspective. “It just brings to reality how grateful I am to be able to do this,” Allen once said. “Because I know if my brother had the same opportunity, he’d take full advantage.”

Allen never forgot who first introduced him to martial arts. As a kid, he watched his brother take jiu-jitsu classes, and curiosity soon became passion. “I love my brother very much. I wouldn’t be where I’m at without him for sure, 100%. He allows me to do what I do,” he shared. “Without him and my family, I wouldn’t be anything.”

It’s that sense of gratitude that defined one of Brendan Allen’s most emotional moments in the UFC. After defeating Marvin Vettori at UFC 318, a fight born from rivalry, Allen dropped his guard and spoke from the heart. “I’m very sorry for him and his family,” he said, referencing the loss of Vettori’s brother. “My heart goes out to him and his family for that. Respect to him for coming here and still fighting, ’cause I wouldn’t fight if something happened to my brother. As far as him personally, it’s up to him, man. I don’t hold any beef. It is what it is.”

Now, as he prepares to face Reinier de Ridder in UFC Vancouver, Allen carries that lesson with him. Every walk to the Octagon is more than a fight; it’s a tribute. A reminder that behind every chokehold and punch stands the brother who can no longer throw one, but still inspires them all.