Brendan Allen Claims He Was Harder Fight Than Usman After UFC Vegas Win
Brendan Allen used a post-fight interview following his fifth-round submission of Christian Leroy Duncan to argue that Dricus Du Plessis selected the easier option when he faced Kamaru Usman instead of him earlier this year.
Allen improved to 28-7 with the rear-naked choke stoppage at 2:46 of the fifth round in the main event of UFC Vegas 122 on October 10 at the Meta Apex in Las Vegas.
The victory extended his winning streak to four and reinforced his standing near the top of the middleweight rankings, where he sits at No. 4.
The American has repeatedly pointed to a lack of interest from higher-ranked opponents as the reason he has faced fighters ranked below him. In the interview, he addressed an interviewer who noted his recent activity against unranked and lower-ranked competition. Allen responded that most of those names prefer matchups that do not present a real challenge.
“Well, most of those guys don’t wanna fight,” Allen said. “They don’t wanna really be challenged. I think we see that with the matchups that they get, you know?”
He then turned specifically to Du Plessis, who defeated Usman by unanimous decision on July 18 in Oklahoma City. Allen acknowledged Usman’s credentials as a former welterweight champion and one of the best in that division based on his accomplishments, but he maintained that the version of Usman available at the time was no longer at his peak.
“Everyone’s hyping up Kamaru because of his resume. Yes, he has a great resume. He is one of the best to ever do it at welterweight off of his accolades. That’s true. But we’re not there anymore. We’re very far past that,” Allen said. “And father time will get every single one of us if we stay in this game long enough.”
Allen went further by comparing the two potential matchups directly. He stated that he represented the more difficult test for Du Plessis at the time of the Usman fight and that the South African and those around him recognized it.
“So, yeah, he was a easy, easier fight than me. There’s no questioning that,” Allen said. “You could say what you want, you could think what you want.
I’m younger, I’m hungrier, I’m bigger, I’m faster, I’m stronger. I’m close to just experienced. You know, he’s just got more title fights, but amount of fights I’ve got probably close. So, I’m tough, you know. I think I’m technically better, but that’s just my opinion.”
He concluded the comparison by reiterating that the outcome should have been clear to everyone involved.
“By the way, no matter what, no matter how you cut it, at this point in time, or at that point in time, I was the harder fight. No questions about it. So he took the easier fight.
He knows it, I know it, everyone else knows it, and f*ck Henry Cejudo, too, just saying.”
Allen also dismissed a podcast discussion of the topic as a “trash-ass podcast” and extended the challenge beyond Du Plessis.
“And if you don’t like it, tell Usman he can see my boy Bilal, if Henry can see me if he wants, I don’t give a f*ck, either one of them.”
The comments arrive with Allen on a four-fight streak that includes wins over Marvin Vettori, Reinier de Ridder, and Edmen Shahbazyan. Du Plessis, a former middleweight champion, remains ranked near the top of the division after his decision victory over Usman.
Current champion Sean Strickland has publicly discussed dissatisfaction with his contract and the possibility of stepping away from the title, which leaves the middleweight picture fluid.
Allen’s position is that continued wins against available opponents should eventually force higher-ranked names into the cage with him.
Whether Du Plessis or other contenders engage remains to be seen, but Allen has made clear he views the Usman matchup as the path that avoided the tougher test. The division’s next moves will determine if his case for a step up is answered inside the Octagon.
