Brendan Allen didn’t need the finish. He took it anyway. The No. 4-ranked middleweight choked out Christian Leroy Duncan with a rear-naked choke at 2:46 of Round 5 in the UFC Vegas 122 main event Saturday night at the Meta Apex in Las Vegas. As Aaron Bronsteter pointed out on X, all three judges had Allen ahead 38-37 going into the fifth.
The win is Allen’s 15th at middleweight in the UFC, according to UFC News on X. That leaves him one behind Michael Bisping and Brad Tavares, who share the division record at 16. It was also his ninth middleweight finish, tying him with Chris Leben and Nate Marquardt. Only Gerald Meerschaert (12) and Anderson Silva (11) have more.
Duncan, ranked No. 10, came in on a five-fight win streak to headline a UFC card for the first time, and he came out hot. He pushed Allen into the fence early and worked the body with right hands. Allen answered with a takedown and went straight for the neck, but the Englishman climbed back up the cage. Duncan then cracked him with a spinning elbow in the exchanges, and MMA Weekly gave him the round.
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Round 2 swung on one moment. Duncan poked Allen in the eye with an extended hand, and Cageside Press reported that Allen had warned the ref about Duncan’s open fingers just before it happened. Referee Marc Goddard docked a point. It was the second point deduction of the night on the card. Allen then hit a body lock takedown, moved to side control, threatened an arm-triangle and worked toward the back for the rest of the frame.
The third was a mess of scrambles. Allen shot right away and ended up on bottom. Duncan kept choosing to grapple, and he finished the round on top landing ground and pound. In the fourth, Duncan stayed on the outside while Allen pressured with a left hook and a right hand that spun him around. Duncan’s output climbed late, though, and Cageside Press reported his corner told him afterward that he had to win the fifth.
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He started that fifth well enough, landing to the body and nearly connecting with a wheel kick. Then Allen grabbed a body lock about 90 seconds in, hauled him to the mat and got both hooks in. Duncan fought the hands and swatted Goddard away when the ref checked on him, then tapped seconds later as he was going out.
That makes four straight wins for Allen, who per Cageside Press hasn’t lost since leaving Kill Cliff to train with former welterweight champ Belal Muhammad. He told Michael Bisping in the cage that he wants a title shot, and failing that, former champion Dricus Du Plessis.
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This was a fun fight with some head-scratching choices. Duncan’s hands looked sharp for long stretches, and he kept choosing to wrestle with a guy who lives on the mat. That’s the lesson he takes home from his first five-round fight. Allen deserves real credit for the finish, though. He was winning on the cards and dove for the choke anyway, and that tells you everything about how he plans to catch Bisping and Tavares. Five rounds, no stalling, a tap with 2:14 left. I’ll take that main event any Saturday.
