Simply weeks earlier than he was scheduled to headline UFC Vegas 90, Brendan Allen obtained the decision each fighter dreads: His opponent was out attributable to harm.
The information got here after Allen and that opponent, Marvin Vettori, had traded loads of pictures via interviews and social media, and much more when each appeared at UFC 299.
“It was insane,” Allen advised MMA Preventing. “I came upon on a Monday that [Vettori] wasn’t going to battle after all of the s*** he talked, and all of the little obscenities he did over the weekend on the Miami pay-per-view. Discovered Monday that he wasn’t going to battle.
“Waited till Wednesday, they advised me principally that I can go residence. As a result of I used to be coaching, I needed to go residence if I wasn’t going to battle.”
Allen primarily trains out of Kill Cliff MMA in Florida, however he lives along with his household in Louisiana. After studying he was now not preventing, he packed his baggage to go residence and benefit from some further time along with his kids.
He barely made it onto the airplane when the UFC referred to as once more.
“I booked my flight for Thursday,” Allen defined. “I sparred Thursday, I used to be on my approach residence, they usually referred to as me, and mentioned they had been speaking about Chris Curtis. We’re like, ‘There’s no win in that for me.’ It’s a lose-lose for me if you consider it. [UFC said,] ‘They already mentioned no, so simply go residence.’
“I had my different connection to Louisiana. I obtained to Louisiana, about 20 minutes after that the UFC referred to as, we talked, and that’s what they needed, in order that’s what I did. I booked my flight again to Florida and went again to coaching.”
As pissed off as he was with the chain of occasions, Allen couldn’t complain an excessive amount of, as a result of at the very least his total coaching camp wasn’t wasted.
The draw back for Allen is preventing down the rankings once more after hoping to face somebody increased within the middleweight division. Vettori’s withdrawal ruined these plans. However Allen is protecting a constructive perspective about drawing Curtis once more, as a result of their earlier encounter served as solely one of many two losses on his UFC report.
“It was an actual roller-coaster, for certain,” Allen mentioned. “Fortunately, I stayed weight-reduction plan and stayed coaching. It was good to come back residence for 2 days, reset and see my youngsters. It was alright, it was good. It sucks, as a result of it’s at all times some bulls*** that’s past my management, past the UFC’s management. Another person that I’m preventing is the issue. Everyone seems to be like, ‘I’m damage.’ Effectively, I’m damage too. I fought damage. I’ve by no means pulled out of a battle. My leg must be hanging off the opposite half of it, reduce in half for me to drag out. It’s simply loopy.
“It’s past my management. Between not having the alternatives to essentially transfer up, and never having the followers, it’s the primary motive I don’t have a title shot proper now. As a result of if it was skill-based, I actually really feel I’d be the champion. However I believe it’s clearly about who can put asses within the seats and who will get the larger alternatives. It’s what it’s.”
Allen additionally responded to Vettori’s fiery message after the one-time UFC title challenger dropped out of their scheduled matchup.
In a video posted to social media, Vettori promised, “I’ll smash your face simply since you look humorous to me,” and added, “I’ll see you quickly.”
“If you happen to don’t make it to the battle, you possibly can’t have a chance to win the battle,” Allen mentioned in response. “He had an choice to battle me final 12 months, he didn’t take it. He pulled out this time. Two strikes, you’re out. That’s recreation over. We’ll see. Everyone noticed his little video. He’s in Vegas proper now. We’ll see. It’s that easy to me.
“The dude is simply delusional. He’s irrational. You possibly can’t have any type of rational dialog with somebody who’s delusional and irrational. It’s actually inconceivable. At this level, there’s actually nothing to speak about. I signed the contract to battle. I’m simply preventing any individual else. If he lives as much as the phrase in his video, we’ll see [this weekend]. Possibly we’ll have two fights in Vegas. I don’t care. I gained’t say a phrase. I gained’t exit of my approach, but when it involves me, I’m not a b****. We’re going to seek out out. That’s how I view it.”
In relation to the rematch with Curtis this weekend, Allen doesn’t have a nasty phrase to say about his veteran foe. However this rematch is certainly extra about revenge than rankings. Allen is unbeaten in six straight since falling to Curtis again in 2021, whereas Curtis hasn’t been as lucky, incomes a 2-2 report with one no-contest over his previous 5 outings.
“Actually, the one factor I get out of it’s I’ll receives a commission and hopefully I’ll get the revenge,” Allen mentioned. “That’s actually the one two issues that may come out of it, in my eyes. Hopefully the UFC sees the issues that I’m doing and hold getting taken away from me. Hopefully I get one thing good from it.
“We noticed Sean [Strickland] get a title shot at No. 6 after beating an unranked man. Hopefully, if I can go on the market and end Chris, I can go proper into preventing Sean subsequent or preventing the champion. That will be the best-case state of affairs — a title shot. The second best-case state of affairs would getting Sean.”
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