"He came back with (wanting it) to be three rounds, wanted it to be a catchweight, I said ok we'll move on. I imagined him to be jumping at the bit to fight me, but no. We kind of basically just went down the list from whoever was available and came off a win. The first one to say yes was Brendan so I was very happy that he did."
"(Would) be a very cool fight. I imagine very spectacular grappling exchanges. His striking, we haven't seen it a lot in UFC, but his striking is pretty cool too. Decent boxing, he's been working with a boxing coach for a very long time, Olympic boxer. The times we trained I thought his boxing was very crisp as well,"
"A lot of experience. I've seen all of his fights of course, and I know a lot about him. I don't really know him as a person. We've never really trained together,"
Reinier de Ridder was scheduled to face Anthony Hernandez, who withdrew due to injury. Paulo Costa was briefly considered as a replacement but his camp requested a three-round fight and a catchweight, leading de Ridder's team to decline and continue searching. Brendan Allen agreed to step in and became the new opponent. De Ridder noted Allen's experience, crisp boxing work with a boxing coach and Olympic boxing background, and anticipated spectacular grappling exchanges alongside striking. Most coaches agreed to work with de Ridder, with Henry Hooft remaining neutral, and Imavov did not receive the opportunity.
Read at Cageside Press
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