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UFC Fight Night 232 results: Brendan Allen taps Paul Craig, makes case for No. 1 contender fight

matthew wells
·8-min read

After winning his second UFC main event by stoppage, Brendan Allen wants a No. 1 contender fight next time he steps into the octagon.

At the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Allen (23-5 MMA, 11-2 UFC) faced Paul Craig (17-7-1 MMA, 9-7-1 UFC) in a key middleweight bout. The winner of the UFC Fight Night 232 headliner would likely move on to face one of the top names in the division, and Allen made sure he would be the one to be able to call his shot after submitting Craig at 0:38 of Round 3.

The fight started at a methodical pace with both fighters looking to find the range. Allen was more active and accurate with his strikes, and then Craig found an entry to initiate a clinch battle. Allen prevented a takedown and hit a toss of his own, transitioning into full mount. Intense scrambles for submission soon followed as Allen had a rear-naked choke, but Craig countered with a calf slicer. A battle to lock up lower limbs resulted in more changes of position, with Allen setting in back on top.

In an early exchange in the second round, both fighters landed hard punches simultaneously. Both were rocked, but Craig was first to shoot in for the takedown. Allen sprawled well and took top position, where he landed solid short elbows that sliced open a cut over Craig’s right eye while racking up a lot of control time.

Allen got right back to top position early in Round 3. This time, Craig would not get back to his feet.

Allen quickly found his way to Craig’s back and locked in a deep rear-naked choke. Craig defended a number of submissions well before, but this one was too deep and he opted to tap before going unconscious.

With the win, Allen extends his current winning streak to six. The 27-year-old has won both of his UFC main event appearances with third-round stoppages. His first was against Andre Muniz in February at UFC Fight Night 220, which was an impromptu main event spot after Nikita Krylov became ill before facing Ryan Spann in the scheduled headliner.

During his post-fight interview, Allen made his case for a No. 1 contender fight.

“I think I deserve it, I’ve earned it. I’ve beat everyone they put in front of me, I finished them. Whoever the UFC says that is, I don’t care who. (Robert) Whittaker, (Jared) Cannonier, ‘C*mshot,’ I don’t care,” Allen told Paul Felder. “I’m trying to fight, man. I’m the No. 1 contender. I’m the best in the world, I’m here to prove it. If you say otherwise, come show me, don’t tell me.”

Full UFC Fight Night 232 results include:

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 232.

UFC Fight Night 232 - Johnson vs Estevam

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Rafael Estevam def. Charles Johnson via decision UFC FN 232 scorecard

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UFC Fight Night 232 - Rafael Estevam

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UFC Fight Night 232 - Ogden vs Motta

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Trey Ogden vs Nikolas Motta ends in no contest UFC FN 232 scorecard

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UFC Fight Night 232 - Pudilova vs Perez

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Ailin Perez def. Lucie Pudilova via decision UFC FN 232 scorecard

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UFC Fight Night 232 - Ailin Perez

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UFC Fight Night 232 - Saragih vs Alexander

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Jeka Saragih def. Lucas Alexander via KO UFC FN 232

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UFC Fight Night 232 - Jeka Saragih

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UFC Fight Night 232 - Parkin vs Machado

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Mick Parkin def. Caio Machado via decision UFC FN 232 scorecard

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UFC Fight Night 232 - Mick Parkin

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UFC Fight Night 232 - Duncan vs Tiuliulin

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Christian Leroy Duncan def. Denis Tiuliulin via TKO UFC FN 232 scorecard

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UFC Fight Night 232 - Christian Leroy Duncan

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UFC Fight Night 232 - Anheliger vs Johnson

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Jose Johnson def. Chad Anheliger via submission UFC FN 232 scorecard

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UFC Fight Night 232 - Jose Johnson

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UFC Fight Night 232 - Pearce vs Brito

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Joanderson Brito def. Jonathan Pearce via submission UFC FN 232 scorecard

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UFC Fight Night 232 - Joanderson Brito

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UFC Fight Night 232 - Medic vs Orolbai

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Myktybek Orolbai def. Uros Medic via submission UFC FN 232 scorecard

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UFC Fight Night 232 - Myktybek Orolbai

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UFC Fight Night 232 - Pinheiro vs Ribas

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Amanda Ribas def. Luana Pinheiro via TKO UFC FN 232 scorecard

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UFC Fight Night 232 - Amanda Ribas weigh in

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UFC Fight Night 232 - Talbott vs Aguirre

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Payton Talbott def. Nick Aguirre via submission UFC FN 232 scorecard

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UFC Fight Night 232 - Peyton Talbott

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UFC Fight Night 232 - Hooper vs Leavitt

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Chase Hooper def. Jordan Leavitt via submission UFC FN 232 scorecard

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UFC Fight Night 232 - Chase Hooper post-fight Interview

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UFC Fight Night 232 - Morales vs Matthews

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Michael Morales def. Jake Matthews via decision UFC FN 232 scorecard

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UFC Fight Night 232 - michael morales

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UFC Fight Night 232 - Main event faceoff

Brendan Allen vs. Paul Craig

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Story originally appeared on MMA Junkie