Allen vs. Duncan Pre-Event Facts: 10 Stats to Know Before UFC Fight Night
Image credit: UFC.com
UFC Fight Night 290 takes place Saturday, October 10, at the Meta APEX in Las Vegas, with the main card streaming at 8 p.m. ET on Paramount+ and prelims at 5 p.m. ET. Brendan Allen is a -142 betting favorite over Christian Leroy Duncan, who sits at +120. Here are 10 numbers that matter before the first punch.
1. Allen is closing in on middleweight wins history. His 14 victories in UFC middleweight competition are tied for the third-most in divisional history. Michael Bisping and Brad Tavares sit on top at 16 each, so a win Saturday would move Allen to 15 — one away from a tie.
2. The submission record is in sight. Allen has six submission wins at middleweight, the second-most in division history. Gerald Meerschaert leads with 11 — and, fittingly, he is on this same card, facing Julius Walker.
3. Duncan owns one of the division's hottest streaks. His five-fight UFC winning streak at middleweight is tied with Nassourdine Imavov for the longest active streak in the division.
4. Ranked vs. ranked. Allen is No. 4 and Duncan is No. 10 in the UFC middleweight rankings, making this one of the rare APEX headliners where both fighters are top-10 contenders.
5. Tale of the tape is nearly even. Both men stand 6-foot-2 and compete at 185 pounds. The one physical edge belongs to Duncan, whose 79-inch reach is four inches longer than Allen's 75 inches. Allen fights orthodox; Duncan switches stances.
6. Allen is rebuilding toward contention. After back-to-back losses to likely upcoming title challenger Nassourdine Imavov and Anthony Hernandez killed the momentum of a seven-fight winning streak, Allen has responded with three straight wins over the past 15 months: a bonus-winning decision over former title challenger Marvin Vettori, a main-event win over former two-division ONE champion Reinier de Ridder — who did not come out for the fifth round — and a Fight of the Night decision over Edmen Shahbazyan.
7. Duncan's run has produced highlight reels. His five wins include a spinning elbow knockout and a spinning backfist knockout, each earning a Performance of the Night bonus. Most recently, he outpointed former title challenger Jared Cannonier by unanimous decision in July. His UFC resume also includes wins over Roman Dolidze, Marco Tulio, Eryk Anders, Andrey Pulyaev, Claudio Ribeiro, Denis Tiuliulin and Dusko Todorovic — a quality run that earned him the No. 10 ranking.
8. The records side by side. Allen is 27-7 in MMA (15-4 UFC) at age 30. Duncan is 15-2 in MMA (8-2 UFC) at age 31. Allen has nearly double the professional fights; Duncan has fewer miles on the clock in the UFC.
9. Allen knows the main-event stage. Saturday marks his fourth UFC headliner since joining the promotion in 2019 — a lot of five-round experience for a 30-year-old. Duncan is still new to this slot, and the five-round distance is where Allen's submission game tends to take over.
10. The card runs deep beyond the main event. The six-fight main card includes Otari Tanzilovi vs. Malcolm Wellmaker, Matheus Camilo vs. Jai Herbert, Artur Minev vs. Francisco Prado, Alice Pereira vs. Daria Zhelezniakova and Melissa Gatto vs. Ernesta Kareckaite. The prelims feature Felipe Franco vs. Alexander Poppeck, Loopy Godinez vs. Ketlen Souza, Allen Frye Jr. vs. RJ Harris, Gerald Meerschaert vs. Julius Walker and Andre Fili vs. Kai Kamaka III.
Sources
- MMA Junkie — UFC Fight Night 290 pre-event facts (mmajunkie.usatoday.com)
- MMA Junkie — UFC Fight Night 290 how to watch (mmajunkie.usatoday.com)
- MMA Junkie — Allen vs. Duncan main event booked (mmajunkie.usatoday.com)
- SportsLine — UFC Fight Night odds for Allen vs. Duncan (sportsline.com)
- Fight statistics, records, height, reach, stance, date of birth — OctagonStats database
Fight data compiled from public statistical sources (ufcstats.com) and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). OctagonStats is an independent database, not affiliated with UFC / TKO Group.