Legacy Fighting Alliance is a hotbed for future talent headed to major organizations. Louisiana middleweight Brendan Allen is no exception. The Roufusport MMA product is set to headline his third LFA card in his last four bouts.
Brendan Allen: LFA’s Next Middleweight Star
The 2015 IMMAF Middleweight World Champion will look to get his momentum back to earn his chance on the UFC stage. Allen does have a fallback plan, just recently earning his Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from Southeastern (LA) University.
The Introduction to MMA
Brendan Allen was introduced to MMA as most young kids are, through the UFC. “I watched UFC on TV while I was playing football,” Allen told MMASucka. “One day my brother’s friend offered us to come try a class so my dad, brother, and I did and I signed up right then. It’s history from there.” Allen was roughly 13 years old when he began his journey to where he is today. After mainly focusing on jiu-jitsu, Allen decided to move to a more MMA based gym, Clementi’s Gladiator Academy, operated by former UFC veteran Rich Clementi.
From Amateur to Professional
The IMMAF 2015 World Championships were the crowning achievement of Allen’s amateur career. He would win three bouts within a six-day span to become the middleweight champion during the UFC’s International Fight Week events. He would go on to defeat James Duckett who just recently competed at Cage Warriors 88. After the tournament, Allen decided it was time to turn pro.
About six weeks later in August 2015, Allen would make his pro debut at WFC 42 against Zebulon Stroud. The win would come by first-round TKO for the newcomer. Allen would continue on an impressive run leading up to 2017, compiling a record of 6-1. The last two bouts of 2016 for Allen (MCFP 2 and Valor Fights 39: Wheeler vs. Allen) were both main event spotlights.
2017 and Beyond
In 2017 Allen would make his debut with LFA. His very first bout was in the co-main event against Jon Kirk at LFA 3: Spann vs. Giles, where he took the first round TKO. About four months later in June 2017, Allen found himself in the main event of LFA 14 Allen vs. Anders, taking on Eryk Anders for the vacant middleweight title. Allen would lose by decision but Anders would go on to the UFC and lose a very close split decision to UFC legend Lyoto Machida. Allen fought again in August to secure another finish (second round submission) to close out the year with some momentum.
Allen began the year in January 2018 with another chance at the vacant middleweight title. Allen suffered another unanimous decision lose, this time to Anthony Hernandez at LFA 32: Allen vs. Hernandez. Hernandez, like Anders, would move on to the UFC afterward. Allen has a chance to get back on track, taking on Larry Crowe in yet another main event, LFA 43: Allen vs. Crowe.
The Move to Roufusport MMA Academy
Allen now makes his training home at the renowned Roufusport MMA Academy located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Being around world class coaches and training partners can only help the 22-year-old improve his game. “I have struggled mentally,” Allen told MMASucka. “I feel being around so many great teammates and coaches here at Roufusport has helped me a lot.” Allen has been utilizing UFC veterans Gerald Meerschaert, Paul Felder, and Jared Gordon to better improve his game.
Hopefully, Allen can parlay his main event victory into a chance to display his skills on the UFC stage. 2018 could be a very big year for the Roufusport fighter, with an LFA title shot all but inevitable if he can pull out the June main event victory. Allen was also on MMASucka Radio in January 2018.
