Brendan Allen has no problem fighting Nassourdine Imavov at UFC Paris.
But “All In” wants their middleweight showdown, likely to determine who owns real estate in the division Top 5 — to serve as the headlining attraction, a spot already promised to lightweight warriors Benoit Saint Denis and Renato Moicano.
Allen and Imavov outrank both Saint Denis and Moicano in the official UFC rankings.
“This is for everyone that’s asking me what’s up, when am I fighting?” Allen said in his Instagram stories. “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.”
Imavov hails from Paris.
Allen (24-5) is the winner of seven straight, including last April’s split decision victory over Chris Curtis at UFC Vegas 90. As for Imavov (14-4, 1 NC), he recently captured back-to-back wins over Roman Dolidze and Jared Cannonier to land at No. 4 in the 185-pound rankings.
Three spots above the No. 7-ranked Allen.
Allen urged Imavov to come to America to fight and get the work done. He believed that they should not be ranked below their opponents in the Ultimate Followers Championship, and even if the opponents had more followers, people would still come to watch. Allen invited Imavov to come and fight him personally, promising to make it happen.
UFC Paris takes place on Sept. 28 at Accor Arena in Paris, France.
