"It's all business with that" - Brendan Allen on Israel Adesanya potentially getting title shot against Dricus du Plessis next
Brendan Allen recently took part in a YouTube interview with The Schmo, wherein he touched on the possibility of Israel Adesanya facing Dricus du Plessis for the UFC middleweight title at UFC 305. Allen, who is ranked No.6 in the middleweight division, feels he can enter title contention soon.
However, as far as he is concerned, the only reasons Adesanya has been afforded a title fight against du Plessis are due to his status as a pay-per-view draw and the fact that UFC 305 is being held in Perth, Australia, close to home for 'The Last Stylebender'.
"That's insane by itself, but hey that's in Perth, you know? Izzy can sell, he's big, he's just still a money maker, you know? He's still a face. It's all business with that, you know? It's not skill-based, even though he is talented, but I don't know, it's hard to say. You get a title shot coming off of what he's coming off, the loss, so, I don't know. It is what it is."
Check out Brendan Allen's comments about Israel Adesanya vs. Dricus du Plessis (1:47):
There is good reason behind the UFC's desire to book Adesanya in a title fight with du Plessis. Not only is the former a pay-per-view draw, as Allen correctly stated but 'The Last Stylebender' has a deeply personal rivalry with the South African champion, which is bound to draw tremendous fan attention.
While Allen may feel like the middleweight division needs to move past the era of constant Adesanya title shots, he is yet to be in a position to contest that, sitting right outside the top five. He is, however, on the cusp. However, he must first get past Chris Curtis at UFC Vegas 90 in a rematch of a bout he previously lost.
Brendan Allen is currently on a win streak
Brendan Allen has put together an impressive win streak in the middleweight division, racking up six consecutive wins. Five of those six wins were submission finishes via his patented rear-naked choke. Only Jacob Malkoun survived his grappling threat.
Even Paul Craig, a renowned grappler in his own right, failed to stop his efforts to submit him. Given the lack of strong grapplers in the middleweight top five, Allen will hope to break into the elite class of 185-pounders, where he will hope to put his submission skills to work.