SEATTLE – Despite his perfect run in the octagon, Brendan Allen still has criticisms of UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis.
Allen (24-6 MMA, 12-3 UFC), who rematches Anthony Hernandez in Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 252 middleweight co-headliner at Climate Pledge Arena (ESPN+), has never been reluctant to try to tear down Du Plessis’ resume.
Even with Du Plessis (23-2 MMA, 9-0 UFC) now holding two wins over Sean Strickland, plus Israel Adesanya, Robert Whittaker, Darren Till and more, Allen isn’t convinced of the champ as some sort of all-time great.
In Allen’s opinion, the hindsight and context of Du Plessis’ biggest wins can already be called into question.
“Somehow Dricus just gets it done,” Allen told MMA Junkie and other reporters at Wednesday’s UFC Fight Night 252 media day. “If you look at his resume on paper, you’re like f*ck man, this guy’s a stud. But if you really look at it and watch the fights, he fights these guys that have such a great name, but look at the time that he fights them. He’s fighting them kind of when they’re not really motivated or on their way out, or just Father Time is getting them. Whatever the case may be.
“For instance, you see (Adesanya) on someone’s resume and you think of the Izzy at his top and you’re like, ‘Wow, he beat this guy.’ Then you watch the fight and you’re like, ‘This ain’t the Izzy that fought Paulo Costa or anything like that. This ain’t the same guy.’ So I think he just gets them at the best times. The best names at the best times, and it is what it is.”
Allen has the intent of climbing up to a championship fight and meeting Du Plessis if he’s still there. First, though, he must get past Hernandez (13-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC) this weekend and avenge a unanimous decision loss in their first meeting at LFA 32 in January 2018.
“Overlook me, do what you want – I don’t care,” Allen said. “My money stays the same no matter what. So I’m going to go out there, I’m going to beat up Anthony and move on to the next step. It’s nothing different. … If the best me shows up, I’m the best fighter in the world at middleweight. I just need to be the best me.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 252.
Be sure to visit the MMA Junkie Instagram page and YouTube channel to discuss this and more content with fans of mixed martial arts.
