UFC middleweight contender Brendan Allen will have the chance to return to winning ways less than a week on from his crushing defeat to Anthony Hernandez — but not inside the Octagon.
Allen has had his charge toward a championship opportunity on MMA’s biggest stage stalled in his last two fights, during which he’s fallen from a seven-fight win streak to a two-bout losing skid.
After a defeat to Nassourdine Imavov in Paris last September, “All In” was unable to bounce back last weekend in Seattle, where he fell to a decision setback at the hands of Anthony Hernandez.
But an unsurprisingly disheartened Allen won’t be waiting long until he gets back to competitive action.
It was announced Wednesday that the 29-year-old will feature in a grappling match at Karate Combat 53 in Denver this coming Friday. He’s slated to battle a fellow top 10 middleweight contender in Caio Borralho.
Having been outgrappled by “Fluffy” at Climate Pledge Arena, this is likely a conscious effort from Allen to fix the holes in his game ahead of a renewed push back up the 185-pound ladder.
While the American has been slipping down the pecking order recently, the same can’t be said for Borralho. The Fighting Nerds standout has gone 7-0 in the UFC, collecting three Performance of the Night bonuses in the process.
“The Natural” most recently got the better of Jared Cannonier in his main event debut at the Apex last August.
