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It didn’t because Allen was able to create a scramble and land on top, eventually working to mount and then Holland’s back, where he laced up the fight-ending choke before even securing his hooks.
A slight underdog heading into the fight, it was an eye-opening performance for anyone who was getting their first look at the UFC newcomer, but the kind of effort Allen promises to deliver every time out.
“When I step in there, that’s the only place where I don’t think about anything else,” he said of crossing the threshold into the cage. “That’s the only place where my brain is right there. I’m not thinking about anything; I’m just in the moment and, win or lose, I’m there. I’m not stressed, I’m not thinking about anything; I’m just happy.
“And I’m in it until the end,” he added. “I’m not there to flake. I’m not there to quit. No matter how I feel, no matter what is happening, I’ll never quit; I’ll never give up. You’ve got to do something to make my body not work, and I know that about myself, which is where some of that confidence comes from when I’m going in there.”
It’s that mindset and unwavering self-belief that has him eagerly looking forward to Saturday night, when he will step back into the Octagon for the second time and go toe-to-toe with Breese, a fellow emerging talent with top-end potential whose rise has only been slowed by a pair of extended periods of inactivity.
“At first watch, my first thought was, ‘Man, I’ve got to mind my Ps and Qs, but a win over him really makes a statement,’” Allen said when asked about the man he’ll face this weekend on the campus of Old Dominion University. “After sitting down and breaking down his tape, I feel like it’s a good fight.
“He has a really pretty, really good left hand, but other than that, I don’t think he’s got anything for me. Once I shut his two down, it’s going to be a very, very long night for him. I’m going to give him ways out and it’s up to him if he wants to take them.”
Plenty of people talk a good game, but only a limited number actually back it up when the time comes, and Allen fancies himself part of that select group.
“I don’t like talking a whole bunch,” he said. “I like to prove it. (Saturday night), I’m going to show that he’s not as good as people think he is and that I am as good I think I am.”
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