Preview: UFC 261 Prelims

Middleweights

NR | Brendan Allen (15-4, 3-1 UFC) vs. NR | Karl Roberson (9-3, 4-3 UFC)

ODDS: Allen (-145), Roberson (+125)

Even coming off of his first UFC loss, Allen is still a prospect to watch. With a large frame for the middleweight division, Allen mostly gets by on his relentlessness. There is not a lot of nuance built into Allen’s approach, but he is more than willing to crash into his opponent and try to make something happen. That approach got him far in his first three UFC fights. He caught Kevin Holland in a submission, overwhelmed Tom Breese and outlasted Kyle Daukaus. However, it was also a style that figured to hit a hard wall, which indeed came in the form of Sean Strickland, who laid a beating on Allen and handed “All In” the first knockout loss of his career. It will be interesting to see how Allen rebounds against Karl Roberson, who is looking for a bounce-back win of his own. Mostly known as a kickboxer, “Baby K” looks absolutely excellent when he is given a blank defensive canvas with which to work, as has been the case in some of his showcase fights. However, things tend to go south when his opponent tries to apply pressure, particularly since Roberson has just enough grappling acumen to be dangerous. While he has been able to score a few submission wins in the UFC, he has just as often tried to lock horns with a better grappler only to suffer for it. If Allen looks anything like his old self, his pressure should be enough to force Roberson into some bad decisions. With that said, there is the worry that Allen may come out a bit more cautious after suffering his first brutal defeat. Still, that concern is not enough to bank on, so the pick is Allen via first-round submission.

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