Brendan Allen recorded his fourth straight win in the UFC Middleweight division this weekend after securing a clinical submission victory over Christian Leroy Duncan at UFC Fight Night at the Meta Apex on Sunday morning.
Duncan got the better of Allen during the early exchanges of the first round and occupied his opponent number with an array of punches, knees and low kicks. In response to Duncan’s appetite to keep the fight on feet, Allen found success with a takedown at the midway point of the first-half and immediately searched for Duncan’s neck.
While Duncan evaded the early submission attempt, Allen was on the end of an eye-poke at the beginning of the second round which prompted the referee to implement a pause and a point deduction from Duncan’s score count.
Duncan immediately got to work, chipping away at Allen’s lead leg after finding success with jabs from both stances. In another attempt to avoid getting hit, Allen swooped in for another takedown and searched for an arm-triangle after gaining side control. After failing to secure the arm-triangle, Allen was proactive with strikes on the ground to end the second five-minutes.
Allen entered the third round with another successful takedown and applied pressure with elbows as Duncan scrambled in uncomfortable positions. As soon as Duncan got back to his feet, Allen once again took the fight to the ground shortly before the buzzer.
With the championship rounds in view, Duncan opened the fourth with crisp jabs before landing a one-two as Allen’s activity inside the Octagon decreased dramatically.
However, Allen’s plan to take Duncan into deep waters appeared to have worked as he entered round five with a flurry of punches before shooting for Duncan’s hips to record another takedown. With Duncan brought down, Allen engaged a single hook and immediately found Duncan’s slightly exposed neck, forcing his opponent to tap at the midway point of the final round.
In the Co-main event, the experienced Jai Herbert defeated Matheus via unanimous decision across three rounds.
Herbet managed to win the judges over after being the more effective fighter on foot, while Camilo had brief success on the canvas during the second round.
UFC Fight Night main card results
Main Event: Brendan Allen defeats Christian Leroy Duncan by submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:46 of Round 5
Co-Main Event: Jai Herbert defeats Matheus Camilo by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Loopy Godinez defeats Ketlen Souza by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Andre Fili defeats Kai Kamaka III by KO, Round 2, :22
Otari Tanzilovi defeats Malcolm Wellmaker by KO, Round 2, 2:39