Allen has praise for Melquizael
Costa’s powerful kicks.
Allen faced surging prospect Costa in the main event at
UFC Fight Night 276 on Saturday in Las Vegas. While Allen
dropped Costa early, the tough Brazilian refused to be put away.
Despite Costa’s valiant effort, Allen put on a technical
masterclass to earn a unanimous decision win.
With Costa being known for his kicking game, Allen was expecting
heavy kicks. However, “Almighty” admits that the first spinning
back kick from Costa that hit him in the chest felt like a
battering ram. Allen also revealed that he was coughing up phlegm
during fight week. The Englishman jokes that he felt like the kick
from Costa cleared up the cough in his chest.
Meeting Expectations
“I wasn’t surprised, but the first back kick he threw felt like I
got hit with a battering ram in the stomach,” Allen said at the post-fight press conference. “I kind of
expected that to happen. It was the shot that knocked out Dan Ige. But he
hit me in the chest so I was like, I think that knocked the mild
asthma out of me.”
Allen (21-4) was unbeaten in his first 10
UFC fights before suffering consecutive losses against Max
Holloway and Movsar
Evloev. While Allen rebounded with a win over Giga
Chikadze, he was subsequently sidelined with an injury for a
year and a half. Allen returned to action at UFC 324
this past January, suffering a hard-fought decision loss against
Jean
Silva. After returning to the win column against Costa, Allen
wants to work his way back into the title picture.