What’s next for Brendan Allen and Reinier de Ridder after UFC Vancouver?

The UFC was in Vancouver, Canada, on Saturday, October for a solid UFC Vancouver Fight Night card. The main event saw middleweight contenders throw down as Brendan Allen took on Reinier de Ridder.

Entering the fight, de Ridder was coming off an upset win over Robert Whittaker to be a legit title contender. Allen, meanwhile, was coming off a decision win over Marvin Vettori to snap his two-fight losing skid.

Ultimately, it was Allen who got the fourth-round TKO win due to retirement as de Ridder’s corner threw in the towel at the end of the fourth round. It was a dominant performance from Allen, who took this fight on short notice. Following UFC Vancouver, here is what I think is next for the middleweight contenders.

Brendan Allen

Brendan Allen took this fight on short notice after Anthony Hernandez withdrew, and he entered the fight with plenty of confidence. Allen thought he would be able to bring de Ridder into deep waters, which is exactly what he did. After a bad first round, Allen took control as he dominated de Ridder and pushed a heavy pace to gas him out to get the win.

With the victory, Allen is right near the title picture. Nassourdine Imavov should get the next title shot, and Anthony Hernandez is ahead of Allen due to Hernandez having the win over Allen earlier this year. A logical next fight is to face Dricus Du Plessis in a pivotal fight at middleweight.

Reinier de Ridder

Reinier de Ridder was looking to earn himself a title shot in the main event of UFC Vancouver. However, after a dominant first round, Allen took over, and de Ridder had no answers for him. His corner eventually stopped the fight.

With the loss at UFC Vancouver, de Ridder is back to the drawing board and will need multiple wins in a row to get back on track. A logical next fight for de Ridder is to face Caio Borralho, who’s ranked seventh at middleweight. Borralho is coming off a loss to Imavov, so the loser of the fight would become a gatekeeper to the top-10, while the winner would be right back on track and a win or two away from a title shot.