Christian Leroy Duncan will be on a six-fight winning streak if he gets past Brendan Allen in the main event of UFC Vegas 112 this weekend at the Meta APEX, and the stakes are high for the British middleweight.
Coming off a unanimous decision victory over Jared Cannonier in July, the former Cage Warriors champion believes it’s not impossible for him to leapfrog Nassourdine Imavov and earn a shot at Sean Strickland for the UFC title with an emphatic finish on Oct. 10, especially since there appears to be a financial hurdle preventing that fight from happening.
“I don’t see why not,” Duncan told MMA Fighting of earning a title shot with a win over Allen. “We have a good performance this weekend, I don’t see why not, you know? I feel that I’m ready and I’ll make sure that I’m ready for that time when it comes. But yeah, we’ll see how things play out and if that is one of the options, then we’re ready.”
If the belt is not next, CLD says a former champion like Dricus Du Plessis “could very well be” his next step in the division after going 3-0 in 2026. In a perfect world, that could be the headliner for UFC’s next trip to London in the first quarter of 2027.
“A great performance in the win this weekend definitely puts us in the top,” Duncan said. “Brendan Allen being ranked fourth, it puts us in that title contention kind of section now. We’ve got Strickland and Imavov, which are supposed to be fighting next for the belt, and we’ve got DDP among that mix of former champions, it would be great to then put my name in that hat at the top level. This year I fought Roman being a top 15 fighter, Cannonier being a top 10 fight, and now Brendan Allen being a top five, so the natural progression from that would be a former champion. I’m ready for whatever comes, but that’s where my sights are set.”
If Imavov does get the title shot after all, Duncan doesn’t think it’s a walk in the park for the Frenchman. Imavov is also currently riding a five-fight winning streak, which includes a decision over Allen and subsequent victories against Israel Adesanya and Caio Borralho, but Strickland tends to upset the odds more often than now.
“They’re both great fighters,” Duncan said. “Imavov poses a lot of problems for Strickland, and Strickland is a very awkward and difficult guy to deal with. We’ve seen him in fights where we didn’t expect him to win potentially, the odds were against him, and he’s performed very well in those fights. He’s no guy to kind of look over. Anything could happen with that one, but whoever does have [the belt], that’s who my eyes are set on.”
CLD remains focused on getting the job done Saturday at the Meta APEX, though, and knows he has his hands full with Allen. A veteran of 19 octagon appearances, “All In” won three in a row in the UFC and recently scored back-to-back submission finishes in grappling contests.
Duncan said this fight “is not likely to go the full five rounds” given their styles, “but we’re prepared if it does go there.” Allen scored the majority of his wins via submission, and that’s the gameplan CLD expects to have to deal with in the cage.
“Knowing the experience Allen has in this game of mixed martial arts, how long he’s been a pro fighter, how long he’s been in the UFC, he knows how to fight smart and where to take the fight against certain opponents,” Duncan said. “I know if I was in his shoes, that’s the route that I would take against somebody like me. So yeah, very much the kind of fight that we expect from him. Actually, he’s good in all areas, so we’re ready for that too. We’re prepared for whatever Allen brings this weekend.
“I expect the best version of Brendan Allen. I expect him to come prepared the same way I will come prepared for him. He knows it’s a dangerous fight, the same way I know he’s a dangerous fighter. I feel wherever the fight goes, I’ll be ready for it. And within those moments I make the right decisions and it’s going to be an explosive fight. I don’t expect it to go to four or five rounds.”
