Brendan Allen chokes out Duncan in round five and calls for Du Plessis
The American won the UFC main event in Las Vegas on the ground; Brazil’s Alice Pereira earned a bonus and Brendson Ribeiro won by guillotine
Brendan Allen needed almost five rounds to find the move he uses most in the UFC. On Saturday (Oct. 10) in Las Vegas, the American submitted England’s Christian Leroy Duncan with a rear-naked choke at 2:46 of round five to close the UFC Fight Night main event at the Meta APEX. A jiu-jitsu black belt, he now has 15 submissions in 28 career wins and four wins in a row, and he left the Octagon asking for a shot at the middleweight title.
The fight was far from decided before that. Duncan came in on a five-fight win streak and was in his first UFC main event. He was the better striker from the start and hurt Allen in round one with a spinning elbow. Allen answered the way he usually does: he went for the takedown, attacked the neck and made Duncan spend energy to get back up.
How Allen got to the back
In round two, Duncan lost a point for an eye poke. Soon after, Allen got the takedown, moved to side control, threatened an arm-triangle and landed punches and elbows until the bell. In round three he took Duncan down again right away and held top position for a good part of the round, but Duncan got back up and finished the round on top, in Allen’s half guard.
Round four went to the Englishman, who went back to his jab and front kicks to the body while Allen slowed down. In round five, Allen shot for a takedown and did not get it at first. He kept working, got behind Duncan and dragged him to the mat. He set one hook, locked in the rear-naked choke and only then set the second hook. Duncan tapped.
The message after the fight
In his Octagon interview, Allen said Duncan was tougher than he expected and that he felt slow during the fight. Then he turned to the top of the division. “Where’s the champion? If not, where’s Dricus?” he asked, pointing at champion Sean Strickland and former champion Dricus du Plessis, his rival of several years.
Allen came into the fight ranked No. 4 at middleweight, and Duncan was No. 10. The submission earned the American one of the four $100,000 bonuses of the night. According to the UFC, he now ranks third all time in middleweight wins in the promotion.
How the Brazilians did
Seven Brazilians fought in Las Vegas, and the best result came from the youngest. Alice Pereira, 20, from Feira de Santana, Bahia, is the youngest fighter on the UFC roster. She took down Russia’s Daria Zhelezniakova, got to mount and opened a cut on her forehead with elbows. Zhelezniakova did not come out for round two, and Pereira also took home a $100,000 bonus.
In the all-Brazilian fight, a guillotine ended it. Felipe Franco got the takedown but left his neck open. Brendson Ribeiro locked the choke, rolled to mount and got the tap at 1:49 of round one.
Melissa Gatto fought to a majority draw with Lithuania’s Ernesta Kareckaite. One judge scored it 29-27 for Gatto and two had it 28-28. Kareckaite lost a point in round one for grabbing the fence. In round three, Gatto got the takedown, took the back and went for an armbar in the final seconds.
The other Brazilians lost. Matheus Camilo dropped a unanimous decision, 29-28 on all three cards, to England’s Jai Herbert. In round two he got to mount and to the back, but he lost the position and spent the last two minutes taking strikes from the bottom. Ketlen Souza also lost 29-28 on all three cards, to Mexico’s Loopy Godinez, and Ismael Bonfim was stopped by Argentina’s Francisco Prado in round one. Souza, Bonfim and Ribeiro had all missed weight on Friday.
Full results
Main card:
- Brendan Allen def. Christian Leroy Duncan by submission (rear-naked choke), round 5, 2:46
- Jai Herbert def. Matheus Camilo by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Loopy Godinez def. Ketlen Souza by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Andre Fili def. Kai Kamaka III by knockout (head kick), round 2, 0:22
- Otari Tanzilovi def. Malcolm Wellmaker by knockout (head kick and punches), round 2, 2:39
Prelims:
- Julius Walker def. Gerald Meerschaert by TKO (punches), round 2, 3:35
- Francisco Prado def. Ismael Bonfim by TKO (punches), round 1, 4:23
- Niko Price def. Leon Shahbazyan by TKO (punches), round 1, 1:58
- Brendson Ribeiro def. Felipe Franco by submission (guillotine choke), round 1, 1:49
- Allen Frye Jr. def. RJ Harris by knockout (punches), round 1, 2:59
- Alice Pereira def. Daria Zhelezniakova by TKO (Zhelezniakova did not come out for round 2)
- Ernesta Kareckaite vs. Melissa Gatto ended in a majority draw (29-27 Gatto, 28-28, 28-28)
For Allen’s record as a submission artist and how each Brazilian came into the event, read the guide VF Comunica published before the fights.
Has Allen earned a title shot with this submission? Tell us in the comments.
