Allen beats Curtis by split decision in UFC main event

It took a gutsy effort from UFC middleweight contender Brendan Allen to keep his winning streak intact - and avenge a prior loss.

Allen defeated Chris Curtis in Saturday's UFC Fight Night main event, winning via split decision (47-48, 48-47, 49-46) at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

It was a rematch of a December 2021 bout in which Curtis knocked out Allen in the second round. Since that loss, Allen has gone 7-0 and climbed to No. 6 in the division.

"Where's that title shot?" Allen said in his postfight interview. "Ain't nobody got the streak that I got. ... Dricus (Du Plessis), you know I'm gonna whoop that ass. So come get this business."

The second fight between Allen and Curtis was high action and back and forth for all five rounds. Allen outlanded Curtis and connected with the bigger strikes in the first round. But Curtis rocked Allen in the second and proved he was a live underdog. Curtis began finding his range more often midway through the fight, punishing Allen with shots to the head and body. Allen landed a nice head kick in the fourth to keep things close.

Allen had mixed success in the grappling department despite a significant edge over Curtis in that area. He was successful on six of 13 takedown attempts and got on Curtis' back several times, but Curtis fended off Allen's submission attempts well. Toward the end of the fight, Curtis had an easier time getting up from bottom and stopping the takedown attempts.

Allen faded in the fifth round and appeared on the brink of defeat, with Curtis controlling the striking exchanges. But in the final few seconds, Allen hurt Curtis and landed a few follow-up shots against the fence. That may have been what sealed the victory for him, as Allen ended up taking the fifth round on all three judges' scorecards.

Curtis suffered a suspected hamstring tear in the closing seconds of the fight and was taken out on a stretcher.

Allen had scored five of his last six UFC wins via stoppage before going five rounds against Curtis. In addition to the 2021 knockout loss to Curtis, Allen's only other Octagon defeat came against former middleweight champion Sean Strickland in 2020. Allen, 28, said he wants a rematch with Strickland if a title shot against Du Plessis isn't next.

The Kill Cliff FC product was scheduled to face Marvin Vettori in Saturday's main event, but Curtis stepped in on short notice after Vettori withdrew due to an injury.

Curtis, 36, was coming off a decision win over Marc-Andre Barriault at UFC 297 in January.