Brendan Allen claims he has accepted the booking to face Nassouddin Imavov at UFC Paris, but is not willing to settle for anything other than a main event slot.
Allen revealed on Monday that he recently accepted the offer to face Imavov at UFC Paris on Sept. 28. After main-eventing three of his last four bouts and winning all of them, Allen has earned a spot in the main event to face Imavov again at “All In.”
However, the announcement of a five-round bout between lightweight fan favorites Benoit St. Denis and Renato Carneiro has thrown Allen’s main event status into question. The St. Denis vs. Moicano bout is scheduled for five rounds but has not been officially confirmed as the main event for UFC Paris.
Allen is adamant that he doesn’t want to lose his main event spot to St. Denis and “Moicano.” He also believes that a bout with Imavov, a lightweight fighter, should be ranked higher than St. Denis vs. Moicano, regardless of how many followers he has on social media. Allen implored his French opponent to fight in the United States if he is serious about the bout, unless Imavov is given a main event slot.
“This is a message to everyone asking me how I’m doing, when I’m fighting etc. Two weeks ago I was told I would be fighting Imavov in Paris,” Allen said on his Instagram Story. “I said yes. I said I want it to be the main event because I’ve been in three main events in a row and won them all. I’m going to an enemy stadium so if I’m willing to take a risk and win, let’s do it. The main event. What happens next, you see BDS.” [Benoit Saint Denis] and [Renato] Moicano is the main event. I’m not going to Paris to lose to these two. It’s like one loses and the other barely wins. No, I’m not happy with that.
“So Imavov, if you want to fight, if you want to get this job done, whatever you want to call it, come to America and we’ll get it done. We can’t be less than these guys. I know this is the Ultimate Followers Championship, but they have followers. Put them on the card and people will come anyway. So I say again, Imavov, if you want to fight, if you want to get this job done, whatever it is, even if I’m the only one who wants to fight, come to America and we’ll get it done.”
Allen has won seven straight bouts, five of which have come by submission, while Imavov has won two straight bouts and is fresh off a fourth-round knockout win over veteran challenger Jared Cannonier last month.
