Brendan Allen delivered probably the most important victory of his profession Saturday night time at Rogers Enviornment, forcing Reinier de Ridder’s nook to cease the bout between the fourth and fifth rounds of the UFC Combat Night time 262 principal occasion. Allen stepped in on brief discover to interchange the injured Anthony Hernandez and executed a dominant efficiency that snapped de Ridder’s four-fight profitable streak within the promotion.
Reinier de Ridder Struggles Towards Brendan Allen
From the opening bell, de Ridder sought to impose his grappling, securing takedowns within the first spherical and dealing for submissions from high place. Allen weathered the early strain, defending a number of choke makes an attempt and utilizing his putting to blunt de Ridder’s advances. By the second spherical, Allen reversed momentum with a takedown of his personal, touchdown heavy ground-and-pound from full mount and high management.
Over the following two rounds, Allen continued to dictate the bout’s tempo. He spent greater than eleven minutes controlling de Ridder on the mat, in keeping with UFC Stats, whereas touchdown 128 complete strikes to de Ridder’s 51. Allen repeatedly thwarted de Ridder’s back-control makes an attempt and labored to enhance place, touchdown elbows and punches that visibly drained the previous ONE Championship titleholder. De Ridder, usually praised for his cardio and grappling transitions, appeared more and more fatigued as Allen maintained strain.
Entering the fourth frame, de Ridder struggled to rise from his stool, prompting the referee to allow the round to commence. Allen immediately shot for another takedown, slamming de Ridder against the canvas and preserving side control. He delivered a series of unanswered strikes until the horn, leaving de Ridder unable to continue. De Ridder’s corner threw in the towel before the fifth round, handing Allen a TKO victory at the 5:00 mark of round four.
In his post-fight Octagon interview, Allen mirrored on his preparation and proclaimed his readiness for title rivalry. “It feels good to do precisely what I mentioned I’d do,” he mentioned. “This was me three and a half weeks off the sofa. I instructed you I’m a unique beast. When my head is obvious and we’re on, I’m one of the best on this planet.” He then referred to as out the division’s high names: middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev, former champion Dricus du Plessis, and Sean Strickland.
De Ridder saw his UFC record fall to 21–3 and his unbeaten streak in the promotion end at four. Despite an aggressive start and multiple submission attempts, he could not counter Allen’s wrestling and ground-and-pound. Allen, now 26–7, moves into the top five of the middleweight rankings and positions himself as a potential next challenger for the title.
The co-main occasion noticed Canadian welterweight Mike Malott earn a unanimous resolution over Kevin Holland, and bantamweight Aiemann Zahabi edged former title contender Marlon Vera by way of cut up resolution. With a number of contenders rising from Vancouver, the middleweight division seems poised for contemporary matchups and a reshuffled title image.
