Brendan Allen has his sights set on a matchup with Dricus du Plessis, but Robert Whittaker thinks Allen should target another former UFC champion.
“All In” kept his reputation as one of the middleweight division’s toughest outs this past Saturday with a fifth-round submission of streaking contender Christian Leroy Duncan. It was yet another notch in the busy Allen’s belt, as he has now won four straight fights and owns an 11-2 record dating back to 2022. Still, losses to Anthony Hernandez and Nassourdine Imavov have made the matchmakers seemingly unsure what to do with Allen, even as he looks to secure a title shot by fighting du Plessis.
On his MMArcade Podcast, Whittaker thinks Allen shouldn’t be going after du Plessis, but the man who dominated du Plessis in a title fight at UFC 319.
“A curious matchup looking at it here that I would like to see would be Brendan Allen vs. Khamzat Chimaev because I think he negates the reach a bit, I think Brendan Allen’s more accomplished on the feet, but also his jiu-jitsu game might throw a spanner in the works in Chimaev’s dominant top control game,” Whittaker said.
Chimaev is in need of a fight after a disappointing performance in his first title defense against Sean Strickland at UFC 328 this past May. That marked the first loss of Chimaev’s career, and while he is eager to run it back with Strickland, it seems that Strickland is more likely to rematch top contender Nassourdine Imavov. That’s assuming Strickland fights at all, given his public grievances with the UFC over his compensation.
Another reason Whittaker would like to see Allen vs. Chimaev, is because that would keep “DDP” open for a potential matchup with Gregory Rodrigues, who he sees as a fan-friendly style matchup for du Plessis.
“Doesnt Dricus vs. Robocop sound way better?” Whittaker said. “It’ll be a beautiful slugfest at the highest level and that is something I want to tune in for. Neither guy is winning from that fight, they’re going to have to really whack it out.”
Until Strickland’s issues with the UFC are settled, the top of the 185-pound division is on hold, though a handful of matchups could shake things up with Caio Borralho fighting Yousri Belgaroui at UFC 334 ad Joe Pyfer fighting Bo Nickal at UFC 335.
Given the uncertainty at middleweight, does Whittaker ever think about how he’d fare if he dropped back down from light heavyweight to face the current crop of contenders?
“Honestly, I don’t really see it like that anymore,” Whittaker said. “I don’t look at it like that. Middleweight is behind me. I’m happy as a light heavyweight. The training and the lifestyle is just so much better. So much better. And enjoying myself is much more important where I’m at in my career than almost anything else. Obviously, winning and then progressing and pushing forward towards that goal, that’s the career, it’s the ultimate objective of the career entirely, but I want to enjoy the journey and the ride. I want to bring my kids along for it all as well.
“I was a middleweight, I was at the top of the food chain for a long time with all these guys. I am happy with the work that I did there, but no, I’m happy that that chapter is over, we have turned the page, and I’m a light heavyweight now.”