TLDR
- Brendan Allen competed at UFC Vegas 122 with a staph infection that began Tuesday of fight week
- Allen was on antibiotics during the fight and submitted Christian Leroy Duncan in the fifth round
- Teammate Belal Muhammad revealed the infection details after the victory
- Allen called out Dricus du Plessis immediately after the win, demanding the former champion accept the fight
- The No. 4 ranked fighter has won four straight and says he’s done fighting lower-ranked prospects
Sources: middleeasy.com | mmafighting.com | mmamania.com
Brendan Allen entered the UFC Vegas 122 cage with more than just a tough opponent to worry about. The middleweight contender fought through a staph infection that started Tuesday of fight week, according to his teammate Belal Muhammad.
Allen submitted Christian Leroy Duncan with a fifth-round rear-naked choke on Saturday night at the Meta APEX in Las Vegas. The victory extended his winning streak to four fights and kept him positioned at No. 4 in the middleweight rankings.
According to Belal Muhammad, Brendan Allen was dealing with A LOT more than people realized heading into his big win at #UFCVegas122 😱
📰 https://t.co/XnJNi6moPl pic.twitter.com/b7AoS0iEpz
— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) October 11, 2026
Muhammad shared details about Allen’s condition on social media, including a photo of the infection. “What people don’t know is Brendan was dealing with a staph infection since Tuesday of fight week,” Muhammad wrote.
Allen had to take antibiotics leading up to the fight and was still on the medication during the bout. He had five days remaining on his antibiotic course at the time of the fight.
Performance Despite Health Issues
The infection may explain why Allen appeared to struggle at times during the fight. There were moments where he looked like he couldn’t get out of first gear against Duncan.
Despite the health challenge, Allen never pulled out of the fight or made public excuses beforehand. “Never complained, never made excuses, just found a way to win,” Muhammad said about his teammate.
Allen became the first fighter to stop Duncan, who entered the fight on a five-fight winning streak. The victory marked Allen’s second straight main event appearance after he defeated Reinier de Ridder in his previous fight.
Callout for Former Champion
Immediately after the fight, Allen called for a matchup with former middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis. Allen has been pursuing this fight for months and expressed frustration about being matched against lower-ranked opponents.
“Yeah, if he drops his nuts,” Allen told reporters at the post-fight press conference when asked if du Plessis would accept the fight. “It’s all talk from his side all the time. I’ve been waiting to sign the contract.”
Allen explained why he believes du Plessis is the logical next opponent. “He’s the only one who makes sense,” Allen said. “No. 1, we’ve had our differences. No. 2, we were supposed to fight before, so it’s not unreasonable.”
The fighter criticized du Plessis for choosing to fight Kamaru Usman instead of accepting a bout with him. Allen believes he presented a tougher challenge than the former welterweight champion.
“I’m younger, I’m hungrier, I’m bigger, I’m faster and I’m stronger,” Allen said when comparing himself to Usman at that time. “I think I’m technically better, but that’s just my opinion.”
Allen made it clear he’s done fighting prospects ranked below him. He has defeated Shahbazyan, de Ridder, and now Duncan in recent fights, all while sitting near the top of the division.
“I’m not going to chase that motherf—ker,” Allen said about du Plessis. “If he wants to fight, fight. If not, we’ll figure something else out.”
With Allen ranked No. 4 and carrying a four-fight winning streak, he has positioned himself as a legitimate contender in the middleweight division. Du Plessis remains near the top of the rankings after his previous title reign ended.
