Brendan Allen’s hit-list: Heinisch, Anders, and Giles

Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Brendan Allen is eager to avenge his regional losses, but he isn’t going to wait around for the rest of the middleweight division. Brendan Allen (14-3) is quite at home inside the Octagon, b…

UFC Vegas 4 Brendan Allen Tom Breese Kyle Daukus Ian Heinisch MMA News Shakiel Mahjouri Fight Island June 27

Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Brendan Allen is eager to avenge his regional losses, but he isn’t going to wait around for the rest of the middleweight division.

Brendan Allen (14-3) is quite at home inside the Octagon, but maybe that has something to do with the high-caliber competition he faced on the regional scene.

Allen, 24, looks for the three-peat at UFC Vegas 4 against short notice replacement Kyle Daukus. “All In” is coming off consecutive finishes of Tom Breese and Kevin Holland. He racked up 12 wins and three defeats on the independent scene. In an unusual circumstance, all three men who defeated Allen can call themselves active UFC fighters.

“That is something I’ve always wanted. You hear me say it time and time again. I definitely want all those losses,” Allen told Bloody Elbow ahead of UFC Vegas 4. “I tried and tried and tried, it just doesn’t happen. At this point, I’m ahead of everyone. I’m not really looking back. I’m just going to keep going. Hopefully, they can present themselves. If not, it is what it is.”

Allen was previously scheduled to fight number 13-ranked Ian Heinisch before the latter suffered an injury. Allen had previously accused Heinisch of ducking him before accepting a fight against Allen’s teammate Gerald Meerschaert one week later.

“I wanted to do it for him,” a calm and calculated Allen said of avenging his teammate, who was decisively stopped by Heinisch. “I don’t need any more motivation than I already have for any fight. I have all the motivation I need. I don’t need anything extra. I’m focused, I’m always going to be focused.”

Allen — zen and tranquil — refuses to let these storylines and periphery motives distract him from the task at hand.

“I’m a mind your own business kind of guy. Some things will aggravate me when I see it. That’s why I don’t care for social media too much,” he explained. “I try to give it to my wife most of the time to do it when I’m home. I’m just here to fight. I’m here to make money for my family and go home.”

The evolution of “Cowboy” Donald Cerrone to Daddy Cerrone is fascinating to this author. Allen, a new dad himself, described what it was like fighting for a living while feeding a mouth at home.

“The feeling is, it’s hard to explain, but it’s greater. I have more depending on me right now. It makes me more focused and eager to get home. It puts life into perspective,” he shared. “As far as the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t really matter. I still get to go home and be with her so that’s the win at the end of the day.”

UFC Vegas 4 is headlined by ranked lightweights Dustin Poirier and Dan Hooker. Welterweights Mike Perry and Mickey Gall occupy the co-main event slot.

Timestamps are below for the video above:

0:19 – Chowing down on french fries
1:28 – Avenging regional losses in UFC
2:30 – Fights falling through 3:08 – Beef with Ian Heinisch
3:58 – Comparing Kyle Daukaus to Tom Breese
4:35 – Analyzing Kyle Daukaus as an opponent
5:22 – Importance of staying focused
6:54 – Fighting as a father
9:10 – Proving something to yourself