“He’s gotta have his bite,” Robert Whittaker snubs Brendan Allen’s top 10 spot as he demands victory against contenders

Brendan “All In” Allen is on a six-win streak. Five of which have correspondingly ended in submissions. As of late, he won by submitting Paul Craig in the main event of UFC Vegas 82 this past weekend. Furthermore, with this win, he had been pushed to #8 within the official middleweight rankings. At 23-5, Allen has not faced anyone in the top 10 of the division.

At the in-ring post-fight presser, however, the fighter called on too many names and reaffirmed being ready. One of those names is Robert Whittaker. At 25-7-0 himself, middleweight Robert Whittaker is on a mixed bag of streaks, with consecutive wins and losses. His last skid came to Dricus Du Plessis, with a TKO in July. Speaking with Johnny Roses, in episode 27 of the MMArcade Podcast, Whittaker said:

I’m pretty sure he said my name. I’m pretty sure in his speech he said he wants to fight a contender, he wants to fight either me or (Jared) Cannonier. I think he’s number 10 now, he’s obviously just broken into those top guys. I don’t know, I’m not a matchmaker. Paul Craig wasn’t a tenth-ranked dude, he wasn’t in the top 10 rankings. He’s gotta have his bite still, I guess, the top 10 fights. Just do your work. UFC realize that, recognize that.

Whittaker thus questioned the legitimacy of all the hype and subsequent callout of Allen. With Craig not being within the top ten of the division, he mentions that Allen has ways to go. Additionally, and quite nonchalantly, he added that he does not care for the progress of Allen until he gets there.

Whittaker, who turns 33 in less than a month, is looking forward to bouncing back from losing to Du Plessis at UFC 290. “The Reaper” is currently ranked #3 at 185lbs, without any stated opposition.

Brendan Allen wants a rematch against UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland

Brendan Allen is on a one-of-a-kind submission streak, with a win at Las Vegas. Standing at 23-5 MMA, 11-2 UFC, Allen defeated Paul Craig at the UFC Vegas 82 headliner at the UFC Apex. After the third-round submission victory, Allen went on to call a No.1 contender bout, at the post-fight presser. Amongst those that were mentioned as viable opponents, was Sean Strickland.

Since his second-round TKO loss to Strickland in November 2020, Allen has rounded up to be 8-1. Strickland, on the other hand, defeated Israel Adesanya at UFC 293, to win the middleweight title. He makes his first title defense at UFC 297. Hoping to rectify the skiddiest blemish of his career, Allen also made a callout to Strickland.

During the callout, Allen wished for a title eliminator bout at UFC 300. Allen also commended Strickland’s next opponent,  Dricus Du Plessis, who he faces at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, in January.

But he said that realistically, and steadily, Strickland would come out on top due to experience. He also weighed in on Robert Whittaker. While Allen thinks that Whittaker is tenacious and can “dig deep” and make a comeback, he still does not warrant any attention.

In case you missed it:

• “More immature mentally,” Rising contender Brendan Allen reveals what went wrong in his first bout against champion Sean Strickland
• “It’s bullsh**” – Brendan Allen exposes Khamzat Chimaev’s middleweight rankings after beating former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman

Stay Updated!

Join our newsletter to receive exclusive updates and curated insights directly to your inbox.

Subscribe NOW