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Brendan Allen bounced back into the win column with an impressive first round submission victory over fellow middleweight Karl Roberson at UFC 261. Both fighters, currently unranked, were looking to take their first steps towards establishing themselves in the division.
The fight started off with a pair of kicks from each fighter before they started trading hands in an early exchange. Roberson managed to land a stiff jab and followed it up with leg kicks that had Brendan Allen on the retreat. Allen countered with a combination of his own to push Karl Roberson back against the cage.
Things started to go wrong for Roberson when Brendan Allen dropped for a takedown and took the game to ground. Allen worked from the top, looking to secure an arm, but Karl Roberson was able to work his way back against the cage. Roberson was briefly able to get back on his feet before Allen drove him back to the mat for good.
Brendan Allen now began to work his way from halfguard and Karl Roberson did his best to lock him down. However, Roberson would give up a leg in the process and Allen didn't hesitate a moment before going for it. Brendan Allen forced Karl Roberson to tap to a mean-looking heel-hook at 4:55 in the opening round.
Karl Roberson was wary of grappling with Brendan Allen
While answering media day questions, Karl Roberson disclosed that he would be looking for a knockout win against Brendan Allen inside the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena. However, 'Baby K' also knew that he had to stay out of grappling scenarios against an opponent with a lengthy frame.
Going into the bout, Karl Roberson averaged 1.08 takedowns per 15 minutes and 0.81 submissions in the same time period. Although Roberson won 44% of his fights via submission, Brendan Allen managed to get the better of him in the preliminary card at UFC 261. With this, Allen managed to bounce back from his last TKO loss to Sean Strickland and stands 2-2 in his last four.
