Sean Strickland Wanted to ‘Break’ Brendan Allen at UFC Fight Night 182

DROPPED him!!

That's wins in weeks for Sean Strickland! #UFCVegas14 pic.twitter.com/glOHhkUosF

— UFC Canada (@UFC_CA) November 15, 2020

After injuries from a motorcyle accident sidelined him for two years, it’s been a memorable couple of weeks for Sean Strickland.

Strickland earned his second triumph in 14 days at UFC Fight Night 182 when he defeated Brendan Allen by technical knockout 1:32 into the second round of their 195-pound catchweight clash at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday. That victory comes on the heels of a unanimous decision victory over Jack Marshman at UFC Fight Night 181 on Oct. 31.

“2020 has been a hell of a year,” Strickland said. “I just love being a UFC fighter in the end of the day. After the action and everything, being a UFC fighter, I’m a fan boy. I’m just happy to be able to get in there, win, step in the Octagon and get people to like me and watch me, get fans... The whole year has been great for me.”

Strickland agreed to face Allen on short notice after his opponent had a fight fall through the previous week, and what resulted was arguably the most impressive triumph of the Californian’s career to date. Strickland had superior volume throughout the fight before staggering Allen with a devastating two-punch combination and finishing off his victory with follow-up punches at the 1:32 mark of Round 2.

Not only did “Tarzan” become the first man to defeat Allen via KO/TKO, but he also stopped the 24-year-old Roufusport representative’s seven-fight winning streak.

“He actually beat a couple of my good buddies, so it felt really good in there. If you watch Brendan, he is a tough guy. He’s never been broken,” Strickland said. “If you watch his fights, he doesn’t break, so I remember telling my corner: ‘I want to break this guy. I want to hit this guy, keep hitting and try to break him. I want him to not want to be here’. And I feel like we accomplished that.”

At first, Strickland was surprised at how much damage Allen was able to absorb. Eventually, though, Strickland noticed that his 24-year-old foe was beginning to wilt under his pressure.

“To be honest, there was a moment when even my mind started thinking ‘how this guy keep taking these shots?’. But he just stayed in his game plan, kept fighting,” Strickland said. “Towards the end of the second round, I just stopped going backwards and I just kind of felt like he had nothing left and that was when I saw it was time to turn up and put him away.

“He is a young kid too – I would say I’m a veteran. When he is my age, he is going to be a whole different fighter, a whole different story, but right now got to put in more work and get better.”

Now that he has some momentum, Strickland sees no reason to slow down.

“Give me a few weeks, but we’ll be back. Let’s keep it rolling,” he said. “I’m 29, let’s knock them out.”