There’s a reason why Brendan Allen never trained with Reinier de Ridder.
This Saturday, the UFC returns to Vancouver, Canada, for a Fight Night event headlined by a top contender fight at middleweight.
Former ONE two-division champion Reinier de Ridder is ready to satisfy the #9-ranked Brendan Allen in five rounds or less within the UFC Vancouver major event.
Allen steps in as a short-notice alternative for de Ridder’s original opponent, Anthony Hernandez, who suffered an injury and needed to withdraw.
De Ridder and Allen are former teammates, having trained at Kill Cliff FC in Florida.
Allen elaborated on where he and de Ridder stand ahead of their matchup.
- READ MORE: Joe Rogan believes Khamzat Chimaev will likely be dethroned by one half of UFC Vancouver major event
Brendan Allen never desired to be Reinier de Ridder’s friend
Allen is surrounded by top talent at Kill Cliff FC, which has seen the likes of the late, great Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson, Robbie Lawler, Kamaru Usman, Aung La N Sang and more walk through its doors.
During fight week, Allen confirmed to MMA Fighting’s Damon Martin that he never trained with de Ridder on the gym.
“I even have enough friends on this division,” Allen said ahead of his fight with de Ridder.
“I even have guys that I won’t fight unless they are saying my name. In the event that they say my name, then we’re gonna get it, they usually all know that from the very starting.
“For gold, I’ll fight anyone on this planet.
“So with that being said, yeah, I’m not your friend. Don’t wanna be your friend,” Allen added.
“I’m not gonna disrespect you. In case you disrespect me, then we’ll have that problem. I’m not gonna assist you. I don’t want your help for me. It’s kinda the way in which I checked out it,” Allen said of his relationship with de Ridder.
“I do know eventually we’re gonna fight because I had been asking him for him since he [came] to the UFC, before he was even training there.
“After which to be honest, like, I got asked for each, like, middleweight they wanted to return to our gym. I used to be asked, hey, you cool with it? [Nassourdine] Imavov got here to the gym and asked me before we were imagined to even fight. I used to be like, yeah. Obviously. It’d be cool. Have a brand new look. Then we fight…”
Allen said de Ridder never approached him about training at his gym or fighting after they became teammates.
“Never was asked, nothing for him. Never,” Allen said of de Ridder.
“So I used to be like, alright. Well, f— me? Well, f— you too. How about that?
“So, not towards him, but towards whoever made that decision. It’s what it’s,” said Allen.
Brendan Allen could near title shot with win at UFC Vancouver
Earlier this yr, Brendan Allen suffered back-to-back losses with a call defeat to Anthony Hernandez.
Before that, Allen had his 7-fight win streak snapped by Nassourdine Imavov.
Now, Allen has the chance to crack the highest 5 with a win over de Ridder, who’s undefeated within the UFC.
There’s no fighter more deserving of a title shot at middleweight than Nassourdine Imavov at once, nevertheless, with the best performance on Saturday night, Allen won’t be too far out from a title fight with Khamzat Chimaev.