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Brett Okamoto, ESPN Staff Writer
UFC middleweight Brendan Allen got his revenge on Chris Curtis on Saturday, but he literally gave it his all in a 25-minute fight.
In a rematch of their 2021 bout, Allen (24-5) narrowly defeated Curtis (31-11) by split decision. While Allen has been a nightmare for middleweights in recent years, Curtis has been a nightmare for middleweights. Good for him. Curtis defeated Allen by knockout in a surprise bout in 2021. Saturday's matchup was once again a short notice for Curtis as Allen's original opponent, Marvin Vettori, was out with an injury.
At times during the bout, which headlined UFC Fight Night in the Apex in Las Vegas, it seemed like history might repeat itself. Curtis moved forward with boxing combinations, hurting Allen's legs multiple times. But Allen persevered and defeated Curtis by judges' scores of 49-46, 48-47 and 47-48. Allen now has seven consecutive wins.
“I thought we won the fight, but I didn't think it would be a split decision,” Allen said. “Regardless of that, I have a lot of love and respect for Chris. He's a great human being and a great fighter. He stepped out on short notice when no one else would have done it. I did it. That’s the player I am.”
After praising Curtis for his hard-fought fight, Allen called for a title fight against either current champion Doricus du Plessis or former champion Sean Strickland.
“Where was that title filmed?” Allen said. “Chris is in trouble. [motherf—er]. No one has a record like me. In order to do that, will I suddenly have to fight someone who has already defeated me? Dorikus, you know I'm going to whoop that ass. ”
The 25-minute fight was mostly on the feet, but a few decisive takedowns by Allen likely made the difference. The 36-year-old continued to pressure Allen with body shots and straight lefts, and in the fifth round he landed a near-perfect flying knee as Allen looked for a takedown. Allen, who entered Saturday's fight ranked No. 6 in the UFC's middleweight rankings, relied on standing elbows and punches, but also landed 6 of 13 takedowns.
Allen was impressive in his ability to secure multiple body triangles during the match and get Curtis on his back when landing a takedown. In the third round he threatened to submit Curtis with several rear-naked chokes, but Curtis did a good job on defense and eventually escaped the position completely and returned to striking.
According to UFC stats, Curtis had 126 total strikes and Allen had 116. Curtis also appeared to land heavier shots, but that offense was offset by Allen's success on the ground. In the final seconds of the match, Curtis appeared to actually have an injury to his leg and stated that the sound of his hamstring could be heard.
Allen, of Louisiana, is currently 12-2 in the UFC. He lost to Curtis in 2021 and suffered a knockout loss to Strickland in 2020. Strickland and Curtis are actually teammates at Extreme Couture in Las Vegas. Strickland currently has no fight scheduled, but is appealing for an immediate rematch with du Plessis, whom he defeated in January. Strickland recently said in an interview with ESPN that unless it's a title fight, he'll only accept big fights that he's excited about.
