In his first fight of 2017 this past February at Legacy Fighting Alliance 3, middleweight up and comer Brendan Allen is happy for his second round TKO win over 30-fight veteran Jon Kirk, but at always believes there is more he can show in his bouts.
“I always say I can do better, but every win’s a good win, no matter who the opponent is,” Allen told MMAWeekly.com. “It’s good to fight a guy who has that many fights, but for me, it doesn’t matter. I just like to fight.
“I’m just starting to be able to show what I can do a little bit of a time. I’ve always had skill, but I’ve never been able to show it. It’s just coming out a little bit at a time. I used to have a lot of problems mentally, and we’ve gotten that figured out, and the better fighters that I fight, the better I perform.”
Having had over 20 bouts combined as an amateur and a pro, Allen does have more experience than many fighters his age, but by no means does he feel like he’s earned veteran status in the sport.
“It’s weird to say I’m a veteran, because I know so many guys who are pioneers in the sport and I look at them as veterans, so I don’t look at myself as a veteran,” said Allen. “I’m still super young and I’m still learning. I’ve got a long way to go.”
Allen (7-1) looks to pick up his second win of the year when he takes Eryk Anders (7-0) in a 185-pound championship main event at LFA 14 on Friday in Houston.
“I think (Anders is) going to come out and do a little pressure like he normally does,” Allen said. “I haven’t really seen any change really in him throughout his fights, but ultimately I’m expecting the best Eryk – and I’m preparing for that.
“I see him come out, trying to throw the left hand, getting tagged, not being able to hit me, rushing for a takedown and trying to muscle me, and we’ll go from there. His best chance is what he’s telling everybody – that he’s knocking me out – but as I’ve told him, he needs to pray for it.”
While winning his first major title is a big step in Allen’s career, to him, the more important thing is that it represents more opportunities for him to move up in MMA.
“I’ve fought for belts before and it doesn’t matter to me,” said Allen. “I don’t think about it. I just go in there and do what I’m supposed to do and get the W. I think I’ll have to defend it, but I’m fine with that, defending it once or twice. It puts me closer to that goal, and that’s what it’s about.”
