Paul Abraham
Former IMMAF World Champion Brendan Allen has secured his fourth consecutive UFC victory. On October 10th, the American defeated fellow IMMAF alumnus Christian Leroy Duncan in the main event of UFC Vegas 122. He finished the fight by rear-naked choke in the fifth round.
Eleven years ago, Allen won gold at the 2015 IMMAF World Championships. That year, Brendan Allen represented Team USA at the IMMAF Championships in Las Vegas.
The American entered the tournament with a 3-0 amateur record, competing in the middleweight division (185 lbs). He would go on to submit all his opponents en route to claiming a World Championships gold medal.
After winning his world title, Brendan Allen turned professional later that year. He continued his career on the regional circuit before capturing the LFA middleweight title in 2018.
In July 2019, he appeared on Dana White’s Contender Series. Facing Aaron Jeffery, Allen secured a first-round submission victory and earned a UFC contract. He made his UFC debut three months later against Kevin Holland. Once again, Allen won by submission.
More than eleven years after his gold medal in Las Vegas, Allen is now an established UFC contender.
His victory over Christian Leroy Duncan came in his fifth UFC main event. Interestingly, Duncan is also a former IMMAF athlete. He won bronze at the 2017 IMMAF World Championships and silver at the 2019 IMMAF European Championships.
Their meeting in a UFC main event highlights the importance of IMMAF competitions. Both fighters won medals on the IMMAF stage before turning professional. Years later, their paths crossed again at the highest level of MMA.
With the recent surge of IMMAF alumni signing with the UFC, this all-IMMAF main event meeting is only the latest advancement of the IMMAF Pathway.
