Brendan Allen doesn’t understand how Khamzat Chimaev is ranked so highly at middleweight.
Chimaev (13-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) currently sits at No. 8 in the UFC’s rankings after edging out former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman in a middleweight bout at UFC 294 this past October. His bout with Usman was dubbed a No. 1 contender fight, but a hand injury prevented Chimaev from fighting for the title.
Allen (22-5 MMA, 10-2 UFC), a rising contender in the 185-pound division, pointed the finger at the media for giving Chimaev what he sees as an undeserved placement in the rankings.
“It wasn’t a middleweight fight,” Allen told reporters, including MMA Junkie, at Wednesday’s media day. “They weighed in at ’85, but they’re both 170s. I don’t know how you rank – I don’t know if anyone here’s on the panel, but if you do, I don’t like you. I’m just going to be honest.
“It’s bullsh*t. This guy hasn’t beat an ’85er. He hasn’t beat an ’85er, especially a ranked ’85er. He beat the No. 1 170 guy. Cool, congratulations. I think everyone can agree a five-round fight, Kamaru wins, and that was off the couch. Keep him at ’70 and rank him No. 1, OK do that. This is a different thing.”
Allen meets Paul Craig (17-6-1 MMA, 9-6-1 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 232 headliner at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The event streams on ESPN+.
Allen sees many undeserved spots being handed to fighters in the middleweight division.
“The rankings are absolutely political bullsh*t,” Allen said. “It’s people going off of what? It’s politics because it’s not off of skill. If we’re going off pure skill, there’s tons of guys that shouldn’t be in.
“How do we have guys that haven’t fought in two years in the rankings? Three years. How is that a thing? It shouldn’t even be close. There should be guidelines. You have to fight at least this many times, at least once a year. If you don’t, you get pulled.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 232.
