Ultimate Fighting Championship gold or a match with the former titleholder.
Duncan (15-2) is slated to headline
UFC Vegas 122 against Allen (27-7) on Saturday at the Meta Apex in Las Vegas. The Englishman has defeated Roman Dolidze and Jared Cannonier in his last two outings and hopes a win over Allen will give him one of those opportunities.
Christian Leroy Duncan is targeting the former champion as the next step after Brendan Allen
Duncan is 8-2 in the UFC and has won five straight fights. He believes an impressive performance against Allen could push him past other middleweight contenders or put him one step closer to a title shot.
“I don’t see why not (the next title shot),” Duncan told MMA Fighting. “We’re going to have a good run this weekend, I don’t see why not…Brendan Allen being Top 4 will get us into that title division where we’ve got Strickland and Imavov who should be fighting next. We’ve got DDP among the former champions. It’s nice to put the top hat on. This year I fought Roman as a Top 15 fighter, Cannonier as a Top 10 fighter and now Brendan Allen as a Top 5 so the natural progression from that would be former champion.
Middleweight champion Sean Strickland has said the compensation remains an obstacle to completing the first title defense of his second reign
Nassourdine Imavov his expected challenger. Former champions Khamzat Chimaev and Dricus Du Plessis are also looking for another fight with the 185-pound title holder. Chimaev lost the belt to Strickland earlier this year, while du Plessis has two wins over the American.
Christian Leroy Duncan wants No. 1 fight — or straight title shot — with win at #UFCVegas122: “I fought Roman, a top 15 fighter, Cannonier a top 10 fight and now Brendan Allen being Top 5 so the natural progression from that would be former champion.” (🎥 @guicruzzz)
– MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting)
October 8, 2026
