Brendan Allen will look to continue his winning streak when he faces Chris Curtis in the middleweight main event of a UFC Fight Night at the APEX Facility in Las Vegas on the morning of Sunday 7 April 2024.
Allen (23-5) has put together a six-match winning run, most recently defeating Paul Craig by submission (in fact, five of his victories in the streak have been secured by rear-naked choke submissions) in November of last year.
The 28-year-old American believes that a win in this fight will take him either into the conversation for a title shot, or on the verge of one.
“I feel it’s based on my performance. I think if I go out there and finish him and make it look easy, I think I drop my name in the hat for a title shot,” Allen explained. “But worst case scenario, a true No 1 contender fight is after that. I really think it just comes down to me. It’s really up to me.
“I think overall, I think this is my fight to lose. I think I’m better in every single place the fight can go. The guy is definitely tough. He can sure take a beating, but I’ve shown I can give one. I really don’t put any emphasis on any of it. I just need to go out there and be me and see where the cards fall.”
Curtis (31-10, 1 NC) steps in to replace Marvin Vettori and is looking to build momentum after defeating Marc-Andre Barriault via split decision in January this year.
The 36-year-old ‘Action Man’ defeated Allen via second-round TKO when the pair met in a Fight Night in December 2021, and he is excited for his first main-event fight.
“I'm a five-round fighter,” Curtis said. “I'm the one guy asking for five-round fights. Let me headline an APEX card, give me five rounds, and I'll show you something special.”
The rest of the main card features two featherweight fights, as Alexander Hernandez and Morgan Charriere take on Damon Jackson and Jose Mariscal respectively; Ignacio Bahamondes faces Christos Giagos, and Trevor Peek is pitted against Charlie Campbell, both in the lightweight division; and there is a heavyweight clash between Valter Walker and Lucasz Brzeski.
UFC Fight Night: Allen v Curtis – Main card
- Main event: Middleweight: Brendan Allen v Chris Curtis
- Featherweight: Alexander Hernandez v Damon Jackson
- Featherweight: Morgan Charriere v Jose Mariscal
- Lightweight: Ignacio Bahamondes v Christos Giagos
- Heavyweight: Valter Walker v Lucasz Brzeski
- Lightweight: Trevor Peek v Charlie Campbell