Brendan Allen seemingly wasn’t keen to wait around for a big fight in the UFC middleweight division, so here he is.
Many were surprised on Thursday when it was reported that Allen, No. 7 in the latest USA TODAY Sport/MMA Junkie middleweight rankings, will take on the unranked Edmen Shahbazyan at UFC Fight Night 278 on June 6 at the Meta APEX in Las Vegas (Paramount+).
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It’s not the fight that was expected for Allen (26-7 MMA, 14-4 UFC), who had been calling out former champion Dricus Du Plessis since his October win over Reinier de Ridder. So why is it Shahbazyan (16-5 MMA, 9-5 UFC) instead? Allen offered a brief explanation on his Instagram Stories, implying his desired matchup didn’t happen and he wants a payday.
“DDP went into hiding,” Allen wrote. “And I’m here to fight anyone and anyone and put some money in the bank!”
It’s a high-risk spot for Allen, who has won nine of his past 11 fights with the lone blemishes coming to top contenders Anthony Hernandez and Nassourdine Imavov.
The 30-year-old is coming off wins over de Ridder and Marvin Vettori and will now have the chance to extend his streak to three against Shahbazyan, who is riding a three-fight winning streak of his own.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Brendan Allen took Edmen Shahbazyan fight after ‘DDP went into hiding’
