Brendan Allen was shocked to see Reinier de Ridder refuse to get off his stool.
Following a gritty split-decision win over Robert Whittaker earlier this yr, ‘RDR’ was primed to attain his first UFC title alternative. All he needed to do was get previous substitute opponent Brendan Allen within the UFC Vancouver essential.
Sadly for de Ridder, that proved to be too difficult a activity.
After getting correctly pummeled in rounds three, 4, and 5, the Dutchman declined to get off his stool forward of the fifth and ultimate stanza, handing Allen the most important win of his combined martial arts profession.
“I don’t anticipate one other man that’s quantity 5 on the earth at the very best promotion on the earth, the most important promotion on the earth, to stop on the stool,” Allen informed Submission Radio whereas trying again on the anti-climactic end. “So, um, once more, like I stated earlier than, to different individuals, he has to reside with that. If he’s all proper with it, God bless him, however that’s on him.”
Brendan Allen knew he’d damaged ‘RDR’
The victory skyrocketed Allen up the middleweight rankings, stealing de Ridder’s No. 5 spot and dropping ‘RDR’ again all the way down to No. 8.
“I stated I might break him going into the combat, and I’ve broke guys earlier than; they only sort of like, simply let issues sort of occur, however by no means have I went with somebody that they didn’t reply the bell. So, yeah, man. It’s very bizarre.
“I used to be listening to my nook nonetheless after I noticed his like, like out of my peripheral. I noticed his nook, you understand, like wave it off, after which I noticed him throw the towel. By the point they threw the towel, I knew it was, it was over. So I used to be shocked, however I additionally sort of anticipated in that second as a result of main as much as that second, my nook was like, ‘Look he can’t even get off the bottom, like he’s nonetheless sitting there.’ Uh, so I sort of anticipated it.”
Whereas Allen finds himself probably one win away from his first crack on the 185-pound crown, de Ridder introduced that he could be taking a while off after competing 5 occasions within the final 11 months.
