Following Dricus Du Plessis' win over Derek Brunson at UFC 285, he was called out by fellow middleweight, Brendan Allen.
After a grueling couple of rounds, Du Plessis finished Brunson, reigning down shots on the gassed-out Brunson, prompting his corner to throw in the towel. Brendan Allen took to Twitter to call out Du Plessis:
Check out Brendan Allen's callout here:
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Given his call-out of Du Plessis, who has also beaten contenders like Darren Till and Derek Brunson recently, international fight week may feature an exciting fan-friendly showdown at middleweight between the pair.
Ali Abdelaziz, Allen's manager, also supported his call-out on Twitter:
Du Plessis, on the other hand, has called out Israel Adesanya, eyeing a fast track to the title. The 29-year-old also took the time to dismiss Paolo Costa, who he had previously called out. Now, Du Plessis says that he is not interested in fighting Costa anymore, and would prefer a No.1 contender fight.
This runs somewhat contrary to Allen's callout, but it remains to be seen how the two will proceed.
Watch the rest of Du Plessis' interview here:
Brendan Allen finished Andre Muniz at UFC Fight Night 220
Allen recently beat Andre Muniz at UFC Fight Night 220 via rear-naked choke, cementing himself as a serious contender in the 185 lb division. Muniz, who was making a name for himself as the dark horse of the division, was outclassed by Allen, giving the latter more momentum heading into international fight week.
Allen is currently on a four-fight win streak, while Du Plessis has seven successive victories. While the African athlete has faced an arguably higher level of competition, Allen has looked immensely impressive in his recent outings in the octagon.
Allen also expressed some discontent with the rankings, believing he should be ranked higher:
Regardless, his call out of Du Plessis definitely warrants merit. Given Allen's fan-friendly, leave-it-all-out-there style, as well as Du Plessis' aggressive, move-forward approach to his fights, this bout is very likely to be fireworks at international fight week in July.