Allen vs. Duncan UFC Fight Night: Expert Pick, Odds — SkimNews
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- Brendan Allen (27-7) puts his top-five middleweight ranking on the line against Christian Leroy Duncan (15-2) in the UFC Fight Night main event Saturday, Oct. 10 at the Meta APEX in Las Vegas, airing on Paramount+.
- Allen is riding a three-fight win streak but says he keeps fighting backward in the rankings; he told CBS Sports he wants opponents above him and warned Duncan that beating Roman Dolidze and Jared Cannonier doesn't compare to facing him in his 20th UFC fight.
- Duncan told CBS Sports that consecutive wins over Dolidze and Cannonier have given him confidence to make a title run, arguing those grappling-heavy and durable opponents already prepared him for Allen's style.
- Dolidze and Cannonier took Duncan down eight times combined, and the breakdown notes Allen's grappling pedigree presents a much tougher test on the mat than either veteran.
- Allen absorbs more significant strikes than he lands and isn't much of a knockout threat, but he has five-round experience and Duncan has never been finished — leading to the expert pick of Allen grinding out a unanimous decision, with a late submission also possible.
Why it matters: Allen has won three straight yet keeps sliding backward in the rankings rather than upward — beating a surging Duncan matters as a statement fight for a contender stuck in neutral, and the source flags the grappling matchup as decisive: Duncan was put on his back eight times combined by his last two opponents, which is the path Allen has used to grind out decisions across 20 UFC fights.
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