Exclusive/ UFC Fighter Brendan Allen Reveals Intriguing Career Path He Would Have Taken Had MMA Not Worked Out

This week, UFC action will emanate from the vibrant city of Paris. As usual, the fight night features a stacked card, headlined by the highly anticipated Lightweight bout between Renato Moicano and Benoit Saint-Denis. While we'll keep an eye on the main event and other contests, our primary focus is the co-main event featuring Brendan Allen and Nassourdine Imavov.

Ranked No. 8 in the Middleweight division, Brendan Allen enters the Octagon with a seven-fight win streak in the UFC. What adds to the intrigue is that his opponent, Nassourdine Imavov, boasts a similarly impressive record and is ranked higher at No. 4 in the Middleweight division. This sets the stage for an exciting clash inside the Octagon on Saturday, with the winner taking a significant step toward a title shot.
To learn more about the fight, Republic World got the opportunity to have a one-to-one with Brendan Allen.

The 28-year-old UFC fighter addressed all our questions and was expressive in his responses. Without further ado, here are the excerpts from the conversation.

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Q. You enter this fight against Nassourdine Imavov on a 7-0 undefeated run stretching back to 2022. How high is your confidence running now?

I am confident. I think it's the same as always anything can happen. I am just ready to find out on Saturday, what's gonnna happen. I don't control the outcome, I am just gonna go out there and try to be myself, and hopefully don't get caught. I don't have any expectations, I just want to be the best version of myself and see what happens on Saturday night overall.

Q. Imavov will have the benefit of home support at UFC Paris. Is it extra motivation for you knowing that you could potentially silence the home crowd?

I am not really thinking about it too much, I am just focused on the fight itself. His abilities, my abilities, what I need to do, afterwards maybe I would look at it as maybe a good thing, a nice thing, but ultimately I am just super focused on him and his abilities, and me and my abilities.

Q. You originally wanted the main event slot on the card. What changed and convinced you to take the fight, given you had won the last 3 main events you were in?

It's just a fight, I wanted the fight, his number next to his name is the most important thing, ultimately, it really doesn't matter. I just needed to fight up to have a top-5 guy, to go and beat a top-5 guy and have that on my resume.

Q. Given the recent run of form you have been in, when do you intend staking a claim for a title shot against Dricus du Plessis?

Yes, hopefully, we’ll fight the champion next—that’s the ultimate goal.

Q. You have a degree in Criminal Justice alongside your fighting career. What motivated you to pursue that degree, and could you walk us through your objectives for it?

I was fighting the whole time I was in college. I've been fighting since I was in high school. A degree was just a backup plan, just in case if I ever needed to use it or want to use it. It just something that family told me that I always needed to do. I'll find criminal shows and detective work and stuff like that pretty interesting. It was something that I was interested in. Yeah, it is just my backup plan. 

*Watch UFC Fight Night: Moicano vs. Saint Denis on LIVE on Sony Sports Ten 2 SD & HD, Sony Sports Ten 3 SD & HD (Hindi), Sony Sports Ten 4 SD & HD (Tamil & Telugu) channels. Sony Sports Network is the official broadcaster of UFC in India