Brendan Allen found himself as a magnet for criticism from fellow middleweights – including champion Dricus Du Plessis – after his UFC Fight Night 243 co-main event loss.
There’s no one more critical of the performance from Allen (24-6 MMA, 12-3 UFC) in his unanimous decision loss to Nassourdine Imavov on Saturday at Accor Arena in Paris than himself, however, and he put the result in perspective after the fight (via Instagram):
Wasn’t my night. A game of ups and downs and shoulda woulda coulda’s. Fought like shit and lost a close decision to a top 5 guy in his home. I will be back even better next march or april. Thanks for all the love and support🙏🏼🙏🏼
There was no love or support from reigning 185-pound champ Du Plessis (22-2 MMA, 8-0 UFC), who has had his fighting style raked over the coals by Allen on more than one occasion in the past. Du Plessis took the opportunity to kick Allen when he was down (via X):
Tough luck @BrendanAllenMMA JK you suck loser 🤣
— Dricus Du Plessis (@dricusduplessis) September 28, 2024
Tough luck @BrendanAllenMMA JK you suck loser 🤣
Allen wasted no time responding to Du Plessis and appears confident a matchup between them will eventually happen (via X):
Says the one been ducking me since getting in. We dont all get the easy route. Wasnt my night tonight……but ill still fuck you up
— Brendan Allen (@BrendanAllenMMA) September 28, 2024
Says the one been ducking me since getting in. We dont all get the easy route. Wasnt my night tonight……but ill still fuck you up
Another slew of backlash to Allen’s loss against Imavov came from former title challenger Marvin Vettori, who was supposed to headline a UFC Fight Night card against Allen earlier this year. More recently, the pair got into a brawl in a casino in Florida that was caught on tape, and the bad blood between them appears very real.
At least that’s clearly the case for Vettori after his blunt post-fight assessment (via X):
I need a come back fight with this bum Allen, two handed he doesn’t go past 2 rounds then imavov borralho or even Strickland can get it too
— Marvin Vettori (@MarvinVettori) September 28, 2024
I need a come back fight with this bum Allen, two handed he doesn’t go past 2 rounds then imavov borralho or even Strickland can get it too
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 243.
