UFC Matchmaking Bulletin (7/8-7/14): Brendan Allen Accepts Nassourdine Imavov Fight In Paris After All

MMA News has you covered with this week’s UFC matchmaking bulletin, featuring all the additions to the upcoming cards. With UFC events being held most weekends, Mick Maynard and Sean Shelby have their matchmaking work cut out if they’re to fill them, meaning new bouts are confirmed each and every week. In recent days, a […]

Continue Reading UFC Matchmaking Bulletin (7/8-7/14): Brendan Allen Accepts Nassourdine Imavov Fight In Paris After All at MMA News.

MMA News has you covered with this week’s UFC matchmaking bulletin, featuring all the additions to the upcoming cards.

With UFC events being held most weekends, Mick Maynard and Sean Shelby have their matchmaking work cut out if they’re to fill them, meaning new bouts are confirmed each and every week.

In recent days, a few notable fights were made official by the UFC or reported by reputable sources. For more information on those matchups, check out the links below:

A number of lower-profile matchups also came together. For those, check out this week’s quick hits:

But it wasn’t all positive, with two fights falling through or being adjusted. For those, see below:

And for more detailed information on one newly booked fight that may have flown under your radar between July 8 and July 14, scroll down and check out this week’s UFC Matchmaking Bulletin spotlighted fight.

Nassourdine Imavov vs. Brendan Allen – UFC Paris (September 28)

Despite posting a social media video in which he refused to fight Nassourdine Imavov in the French capital if he wasn’t the main event, it appears Brendan Allen has agreed to a European trip for his next assignment.

Allen (24-5) has won seven straight since a knockout loss to Chris Curtis, the most recent of which saw him avenge that setback in an Apex main event this past March. “All In” also headlined in his two previous bouts at the Las Vegas facility, with the first coming as a same-day change following the cancellation or Ryan Spann vs. Nikita Krylov.

While he’s yet to headline inside an arena, and Benoît Saint Denis is regarded as the leading French fighter expected to feature on September 28 rather than Imavov (14-4, 1 NC), Allen still rejected the notion he should be anything but one half of the UFC Paris main event. For whatever reason, that stance has changed and the American will be heading to enemy territory, where he’s tasked with stalling the title ambitions of the #4-ranked Imavov, who has won two straight main events over Roman Dolidze and Jared Cannonier in 2024.

This middleweight matchup was first reported by FightMinds.

Continue Reading UFC Matchmaking Bulletin (7/8-7/14): Brendan Allen Accepts Nassourdine Imavov Fight In Paris After All at MMA News.

UFC Matchmaking Bulletin (7/8-7/14): Brendan Allen Accepts Nassourdine Imavov Fight In Paris After All

MMA News has you covered with this week’s UFC matchmaking bulletin, featuring all the additions to the upcoming cards. With UFC events being held most weekends, Mick Maynard and Sean Shelby have their matchmaking work cut out if they’re to fill them, meaning new bouts are confirmed each and every week. In recent days, a […]

Continue Reading UFC Matchmaking Bulletin (7/8-7/14): Brendan Allen Accepts Nassourdine Imavov Fight In Paris After All at MMA News.

MMA News has you covered with this week’s UFC matchmaking bulletin, featuring all the additions to the upcoming cards.

With UFC events being held most weekends, Mick Maynard and Sean Shelby have their matchmaking work cut out if they’re to fill them, meaning new bouts are confirmed each and every week.

In recent days, a few notable fights were made official by the UFC or reported by reputable sources. For more information on those matchups, check out the links below:

A number of lower-profile matchups also came together. For those, check out this week’s quick hits:

But it wasn’t all positive, with two fights falling through or being adjusted. For those, see below:

And for more detailed information on one newly booked fight that may have flown under your radar between July 8 and July 14, scroll down and check out this week’s UFC Matchmaking Bulletin spotlighted fight.

Nassourdine Imavov vs. Brendan Allen – UFC Paris (September 28)

Despite posting a social media video in which he refused to fight Nassourdine Imavov in the French capital if he wasn’t the main event, it appears Brendan Allen has agreed to a European trip for his next assignment.

Allen (24-5) has won seven straight since a knockout loss to Chris Curtis, the most recent of which saw him avenge that setback in an Apex main event this past March. “All In” also headlined in his two previous bouts at the Las Vegas facility, with the first coming as a same-day change following the cancellation or Ryan Spann vs. Nikita Krylov.

While he’s yet to headline inside an arena, and Benoît Saint Denis is regarded as the leading French fighter expected to feature on September 28 rather than Imavov (14-4, 1 NC), Allen still rejected the notion he should be anything but one half of the UFC Paris main event. For whatever reason, that stance has changed and the American will be heading to enemy territory, where he’s tasked with stalling the title ambitions of the #4-ranked Imavov, who has won two straight main events over Roman Dolidze and Jared Cannonier in 2024.

This middleweight matchup was first reported by FightMinds.

Continue Reading UFC Matchmaking Bulletin (7/8-7/14): Brendan Allen Accepts Nassourdine Imavov Fight In Paris After All at MMA News.

Brendan Allen Rejects Paris Bout As He Won’t Fight Below Moicano vs. Saint Denis: ‘One Coming Off A Loss, One Barely Wins’

UFC middleweight contender Brendan Allen appears set to decline a trip to the French capital after being snubbed of the main event slot. Allen, who currently occupies the #7 spot at 185 pounds, extended his winning run to seven in his first assignment of 2024, outpointing Chris Curtis in one of the year’s best fights […]

Continue Reading Brendan Allen Rejects Paris Bout As He Won’t Fight Below Moicano vs. Saint Denis: ‘One Coming Off A Loss, One Barely Wins’ at MMA News.

UFC middleweight contender Brendan Allen appears set to decline a trip to the French capital after being snubbed of the main event slot.

Allen, who currently occupies the #7 spot at 185 pounds, extended his winning run to seven in his first assignment of 2024, outpointing Chris Curtis in one of the year’s best fights to avenge his 2021 loss to “The Action Man.”

That result came in an Apex main event this past April, coming on the heels of two other main events at the low-capacity facility in Las Vegas.

And having had a taste of being on UFC Fight Night posters, Allen is now turning down high-profile matchups if he’s not headlining…

Allen Says No Main Event, No Deal For UFC Fight Night Paris

During a video recently uploaded to Instagram, Allen provided an update on his current status three months on from his latest triumph inside the Octagon.

“All In” revealed that he has been offered a top five opponent in the form of Nassourdine Imavov, with the promotion looking to have the pair do battle at the UFC Fight Night scheduled for Paris, France, this September.

That card recently had its main event reported, with the always entertaining Benoît Saint Denis expected to headline in front of his home fans in a lightweight joust against Renato Moicano.

Allen, however, believes he has more of a right to top spot on the lineup.

“This is for everyone that’s asking me what’s up, when am I fighting?” Allen said. “Two weeks ago, they said Imavov in Paris. I said yes. I said I want to be main event because I’ve main evented three in a row, won all three. I’m going into enemy territory, so if we’re going to do it for all the risk, all the gain, let’s go. Main event.

“Next thing you know, we see (Saint Denis) and Moicano are the main event. I ain’t f*cking going all the way to Paris for these two dudes to go over me. One dude is coming off a loss, the other one barely wins, bro. Nah, I’m not with it,” Allen continued. “So Imavov, if you want to fight, you want this work, whatever you want to call it, come on over to America, we’ll get it done. There’s no way we should be below these guys. I know it’s the Ultimate Followers Championship, but even though they got the followers, just put them on the card, people are going to come anyway.”

This marks consecutive years in which Allen has rejected main events against high-ranked opponents.

“All In” turned down a headliner against Roman Dolidze last September because he wanted a higher-ranked name. While the Georgian was #7 at the time, Allen went on to face the #13-ranked Craig.

This occasion has seen Allen refuse a showdown with the current #4-ranked contender at 185 pounds.

It remains to be seen who the Californian will share the cage with next, and whether his decision to turn down a top five opponent will stall his planned surge to the title.

Continue Reading Brendan Allen Rejects Paris Bout As He Won’t Fight Below Moicano vs. Saint Denis: ‘One Coming Off A Loss, One Barely Wins’ at MMA News.

Exclusive – Chris Curtis’ split decision loss to Brendan Allen came down to ’15 seconds of bad optics’

Exclusive - Chris Curtis' split decision loss to Brendan Allen came down to 15 seconds of bad opticsAfter a 25-minute war with Brendan Allen, Chris Curtis believes his controversial split decision loss came down to 15…

Exclusive - Chris Curtis' split decision loss to Brendan Allen came down to 15 seconds of bad optics

After a 25-minute war with Brendan Allen, Chris Curtis believes his controversial split decision loss came down to 15 seconds of bad optics.

By all accounts, ‘The Action Man’ was on his way to a victory over ‘All In’ in the UFC Vegas 90 headliner. Then suddenly, disaster struck with only seconds on the clock as Curtis suffered an injury to his leg. That allowed Allen to unleash a last-second flurry that likely swayed the decision in his favor.

Chris Curtis

“Optically, I thought there were a lot of exchanges that I was winning,” Curtis said in a LowKick MMA exclusive interview with Mike Owens. “I feel I’m doing more damage. Responding less. I was pushing the fight more. I felt like I was being the aggressor.

From what I’ve heard from a lot of people is that in the fifth round, I was up. I was winning and when my hamstring went out, it presented a really bad picture. He threw a flurry at the end, but nothing landed. I got hit in the shoulder with a knee. I didn’t get hurt or anything, but from an optics perspective, I’m the guy on the fence surviving now.

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“I think the optics of 15 seconds outdid the 4:45 which kinda sucks,” Curtis added. “It’s not how you want it to go, but you don’t control the judges and the judges are going to default to what they see most of the time. These guys are making what, $300 a f*cking [show]. They’re not experts in this usually. It just sucks, but optics play a huge part and it sucks to lose on 15 seconds of bad optics.”

Chris Curtis

Chris Curtis maintains his top 15 ranking following questionable loss

Instead of moving into the middleweight top ten with a win, Curtis continues to cling to his spot as the No. 14 ranked contender in the division.

‘The Action Man’ also revealed the gruesome details regarding his hamstring injury, including a potential timeline for return, which you can read all about right here.

Watch the full exclusive interview with Chris Curtis below:

Brendan Allen bags split decision win in Fight of the Year contender with Chris Curtis – UFC Vegas 90 Highlights

Brendan Allen bags split decision win in Fight of the Year contender with Chris Curtis - UFC Vegas 90 HighlightsBrendan Allen scored a big win and a little redemption in the UFC Vegas 90 headliner on Saturday night….

Brendan Allen bags split decision win in Fight of the Year contender with Chris Curtis - UFC Vegas 90 Highlights

Brendan Allen scored a big win and a little redemption in the UFC Vegas 90 headliner on Saturday night.

After coming up short against Chris Curtis nearly three years ago, ‘All In’ continued his surge up the middleweight rankings. He walked away with a closely contested split decision victory over ‘The Action Man’ in a clash many call a Fight of the Year contender.

Official Result: Brendan Allen def. Chris Curtis via split decision (47-48, 48-47, 49-46)

With the win, Allen has now won his last seven fights inside the Octagon and avenged his last loss under the UFC banner. As for Curtis, ‘The Action Man‘ alternated wins and losses in his last six outings, going 5-3 with 1 no contest in his UFC career.

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Check Out Highlights From Brendan Allen vs. Chris Curtis at UFC Vegas 90:

Paul Craig books UFC Vegas 82 headliner against Brendan Allen in November main event fight

Paul Craig vs. Brendan Allen set for UFC Vegas 82 main event in NovemberOff the back of his impressive middleweight divisional bow against Andre Muniz at UFC London back in July, Scottish grappling ace, Paul Craig will continue his tenure at 185lbs – booking his first headliner under the banner of the promotion in a headliner on November 18. against Brendan Allen at UFC Vegas 82. Craig, who […]

Paul Craig vs. Brendan Allen set for UFC Vegas 82 main event in November

Off the back of his impressive middleweight divisional bow against Andre Muniz at UFC London back in July, Scottish grappling ace, Paul Craig will continue his tenure at 185lbs – booking his first headliner under the banner of the promotion in a headliner on November 18. against Brendan Allen at UFC Vegas 82.

Craig, who landed at the middleweight limit at UFC London back in July, managed to scoop the number thirteen rank in the weight class with his victory over Muniz – defeating the Brazilian with a slew of second round ground elbows. The win also earned Craig a Performance of the Night bonus to boot.

In the midst of a stunning five-fight winning run recently, number ten ranked middleweight contender, Allen most recently submitted Brazilian contender, Bruno Silva at UFC Jacksonville back in June – racking up his stunning thirteenth career submission win. November’s clash with Paul Craig will come as Brendan Allen’s second in a headlining bracket, having himself submitted the aforenoted, Muniz back in February.

Paul Craig books premiere headliner against Brendan Allen

The official UFC Europe account on social media platform, X, confirmed the headlining fight between Criag and Allen this Tuesday afternoon.

“Main event!” UFC Eupore posted. “@PaulCraig gets a five rounder against @BrendanAllenMMA at #UFCVEgas82!” 

Snapping a two-fight losing skid at the light heavyweight limit in his July return in the capital, Paul Craig had suffered back-to-back losses against Volkan Oezdemir, as well last Johnny Walker – the latter of which back in January in a trip to Brazil for the Airdrie native. 

17-6-1 as a professional, during his tenure at the light heavyweight limit, grappling specialist, Criag had landed victories over the likes of Magomed Ankalaev, Kennedy Nzechukwu, Shogun Rua, Jamahal Hill, and Nikita Krylov to name a few. 

As part of his stunning five-fight winning spree, Allen has also defeated the likes of the above-mentioned SIlva and Muniz, as well as Krzysztof Jotko – and holds a middleweight division win over Kevin Holland to boot.