Athletes
Brendan Allen | Nothing to Prove
Top-Ranked Middleweight’s Only Focus Is On Getting Another Victory This Weekend
Throughout his career, Brendan Allen has frequently left his home state of Louisiana to find the best training possible to chase his dreams. First that meant venturing to Milwaukee, Wisconsin to work with the team at Roufusport, and then early into his UFC career, he shifted to South Florida, working with the team at Kill Cliff FC for several years.
For the last three fight camps, the 30-year-old middleweight has booked a trip to Chicago, reconnecting with former Roufusport teammate and former welterweight champ Belal Muhammad under the guidance of Mike Valle and the Valle Flow Striking crew.
“They have a lot of individual focus from the coach, from the team for each fight,” Allen said. “The camaraderie is really nice, good guys, good coaches, and the individualized attention is something I really saw I needed and saw Belal had that really helped with his success.
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“At this point, I know how to fight,” the fourth-ranked middleweight added with a laugh. “I’ve had a lot of those — big fights, small fights — so I don’t need to go in here with these big gyms and fight every single day. I need to make it to the fight, I need to be sharp with what we want to be sharp with, approach it in a more intelligent manner and just go into the fight in a better zone mentally and physically. I think that’s what we do. We do all of that, we communicate greatly and the results have been what they have been.”
After opening last year with a loss to Anthony Hernandez, Allen made the shift and put together arguably the two biggest wins of his career.
In July, he fought in his home state for the first time since his LFA title clash with Hernandez seven years prior, registering a unanimous decision win over former title challenger Marvin Vettori in a grudge match at UFC 318. Three months later, he stepped in for Hernandez opposite Reinier de Ridder in the main event of the promotion’s return to Vancouver and made the absolute most of it, wearing out the ascending Dutch contender and forcing his corner to call off the contest prior to the start of the final round.
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The victories have reaffirmed the belief Allen has always had that when he’s at his best, there isn’t anyone in the division he isn’t able to beat, and the dynamics and structure with his new team are helping him further reshape his approach to his craft, both mentally and physically.
“I think it’s the people I surround myself with, the mentality, and the way I approach it now,” he said. “I’m a lot older; I’m a lot different. I’m educating myself, learning more about myself, and being around guys that have knowledge like B, learning from him as well.
Full Fight | Brendan Allen vs Paul Craig
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Full Fight | Brendan Allen vs Paul Craig
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“Just being a student again is something that has really helped me and calmed me down,” continued Allen. “This time I’m really confident in my preparation, really confident in where I stand in every realm, so I’m not really thinking about anything; I’m just staying focused mentally on where I want to be and staying conscious day-to-day on where I am mentally and physically.
“I’m just taking things moment by moment and it’s been good. If I can’t touch it or see it, then it’s too far away to think about, so I’m trying to stay with what I can focus on.”
That shift feels extra valuable heading into this weekend, as the fight with Shahbazyan is a high-risk, low-reward pairing that came as a surprise to many when initially announced.
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The 28-year-old, who graduated from Dana White’s Contender Series a year before Allen, makes his first start of the year looking to build on the three-fight winning streak he put together last year. But while he’s on a solid run of success and occupied a place in the top 15 earlier in his career, “The Golden Boy” makes his return to the APEX currently stationed outside of the rankings, and with Allen in the top five and coming off a statement win in a main event assignment, it’s the kind of pairing that brings a lot of challenging questions and potential frustrations.
But Allen isn’t concerned with any of it.
There is no statement to be made. No one to remind of where he stands in the division or what he’s capable of inside the Octagon.
“I really don’t feel any pressure whatsoever,” he said. “This isn’t anything I haven’t done before. I’ve always felt that if I’m the best guy in the world, I should beat anyone. I’ve always kept that in my head even if I’ve had injuries; if I’m that good, I’m that good. Obviously, some nights I wasn’t that good, but I’m here and I don’t feel like I need to remind anyone of anything.
“I know who I am, I know what I’ve done, my resume speaks for itself, so I just need to go out there and win. I want to go out there and do what I want to do. I’m not gonna go out there and do something that I wouldn’t normally do because I feel pressure, because ‘I have to win’ or ‘I have to finish this guy.’
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“I’m gonna stick to what I’ve trained to do, and we’ll see how the cards fall on Saturday night.”
Ideally, that means a finish, but all Allen is really after is a third straight win, because at the end of the day, winning is what matters most.
“I want to finish him, of course — I go into every fight looking to finish — but this one, just wanna win,” he said. “I’ve worked super-hard and I’ve sacrificed a lot, as I always do. At this point in my life, it feels a lot different — my kids are getting a lot older, a lot of things change at home, and just the way of the world and how much things cost: a dream and trying to build financial freedom is very difficult, so I just wanna go out there and win.
“A win is a win, and we can look at everything else after, figure out everything else. Nothing matters if I don’t win. Nothing matters if we don’t get in the win column.”
UFC Fight Night: Muhammad vs Bonfim took place live from Meta APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada on June 6, 2026. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!