Brendan Allen, a middleweight representative of Ultimate Fighting Championship, is making strides in his career, becoming more difficult to ignore in the industry. Despite not receiving as much attention as other middleweight counterparts, Allen represents Kill Cliff FC, a prestigious fighting association. Allen recently earned his sixth consecutive win, submitting his opponent Paul Craig with a rear-naked choke within 38 seconds into the third round of their headlining clash at UFC Fight Night 232 in Las Vegas. He now boasts 14 submissions among his 23 professional triumphs and is setting his sights on the big names in his division.
Reflecting on UFC Fight Night 232, a few statistics stand out. First, Brendan Allen’s success is impressive, having won five consecutive middleweight victories. This ties him with Caio Borralho for the second-longest active winning streak in the division, just behind contender Dricus Du Plessis. Allen is also tied for the longest submission streak in the UFC, with four consecutive submission victories, equaled only by Charles Oliveira and Nate Diaz. Notably, Allen landed 32 significant strikes in his recent fight, with his opponent landing just six.
Other statistics from the fight night include interesting records from other fighters. Michael Morales targeted the head (45) and legs (27) of his opponent landing a career-high of 84 significant strikes in a three-round verdict against Jake Matthews. Payton Talbott, after a slow start, outlanded his foe 15 to 4 in Round 2 and 12 to 1 in Round 3 at a bantamweight fight. At a 115-pound division, Brazilian Amanda Ribas came back for a third-round TKO victory against Luana Pinheiro, marking a 5-1 UFC record. This marked an impressive knockdown for Ribas, her first in 10 UFC appearances.
Of course, UFC Fight Night 232 also had its share of upsets. For example, despite landing 76 significant strikes, Caio Machado lost to Mick Parkin in a unanimous decision at heavyweight, demonstrating the unpredictable nature of the sport. Trey Ogden’s technical submission victory against Nikolas Motta in their lightweight bout was also overturned by a replay review, one of only three such instances in UFC in 2023. Lastly, Rafael Estevam, despite a significant strike deficit, took a unanimous victory over Charles Johnson in their flyweight clash, marking the fourth largest negative differential for a fighter to win a three-round fight in UFC history.