Daniel Cormier was incredibly impressed by Brendan Allen this weekend.
On Saturday, Allen picked up the biggest win of his career, stopping Reinier de Ridder in the main event of UFC Vancouver. Despite coming in as a short-notice replacement, Allen wore de Ridder out with dominant grappling, forcing de Ridder’s corner to throw in the towel between the fourth and fifth rounds. It was a win for Allen and a performance that earned high praise from Cormier, who was commentating the event.
“I didn’t expect Reinier de Ridder to break in the way that he did,” Cormier said on his YouTube channel. “Brendan Allen told us that he was going to go out there and he was going to break RDR. But after watching de Ridder fight Robert Whittaker in the way that he did, watching him beat Bo Nickal the way that he did, watching what he did in ONE FC all those years to becoming the world champion in multiple weight classes, you just did not expect what happened.
“Brendan Allen started very quickly once he got on top. RDR was able to control him in Round 1. When you’re fresh, you can control, you can take the back. But the moment that he was able to lose position or switch position — I’m talking Brendan Allen — it was all dominance. He controlled him, he landed a ton of damage on him, and he really did a good job of taking over that fight. From Round 2 on, it was all Brendan Allen.”
The win was especially big for Allen because of how the past year has been for him. “All In” was on a seven-fight winning streak before losing to Nassourdine Imavov in September of 2024. He followed that up with a loss to Anthony Hernandez in February, and suddenly Allen was well away from a title shot. But rebound win over Marvin Vettori in July, and now this great performance against de Ridder, suddenly has Allen back in the title mix at 185 pounds. And for Cormier, it just shows how quickly fortunes can change in this sport.
“It just speaks to how quickly things can change for fighters,” Cormier said. “Last year, Brendan Allen lost to Imavov and he lost to Fluffy Hernandez, and he spoke about how many changes he had to make, how much he had to take a look at himself, maybe he wasn’t the guy that he thought he was. Tonight he changes everything with a result, following a result. Because in New Orleans he beat Marvin Vettori, who is a former world title challenger. He comes out tonight and beats Reinier de Ridder, who is a former two-division champion in ONE FC, who had just beaten Robert Whittaker. The spectrum that this young man has been on over the course of the last year, truly is telling. And it takes a very big man to overcome those thoughts mentally, physically, and where he was in his career 12 months ago to where he is today.
“So now Brendan Allen finds himself in the Top 5 and one fight away from potentially getting a title fight. That’s crazy!”
Break. Brendan Allen reveals the moment he broke Reinier de Ridder at UFC Vancouver.
Towel. Reinier de Ridder’s coach issues statement over stopping the fight at UFC Vancouver: ‘It was the right call.’
Tribute. Paul Felder nearly brought to tears paying tribute to Duke Roufus at UFC Vancouver.
Low Blow. Mike Malott glad low blows didn’t stop UFC Vancouver fight: ‘I didn’t think that was a bad shot.’
Mad. Merab Dvalishvili’s coach getting fed up with post-fight excuses from Petr Yan, others after losing: ‘It’s kind of cringey.’
Roundtable. How much pressure is on Tom Aspinall at UFC 321?
Yours truly was on Sub Radio.
Every finish from UFC Vancouver.
Alex Pereira gives Glover Teixeira a gift.
Max Holloway meets Saenchai.
SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE
Maybe Chito won, but it wasn’t a robbery.
A+ posts from Matt Frevola.
Gotta tip your hat to Brendan Allen for the best performance of his career. Also, middleweight is so weird. A couple years ago Sean Strickland was dead in the water, then he randomly won the title. Is Allen on the same trajectory?
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