Soriano entered with a perfect 8-0 record, having earned first-round stoppage wins in each of his first two UFC appearances and seven of his first eight fights overall. Allen dominated from the jump, showcasing improved striking and ring generalship en route to a clean sweep of the scorecards and a second straight win.
And now, after once again having his date with a ranked opponent scuttled and the vacancy on his dance card filled by a dangerous, unranked opponent making a quick turnaround, Allen is trying his best to focus solely on the task at hand and see how things shake out once he pushed his winning streak to three.
“At this point, I’ve just got to go out there and get this win,” continued Allen, who turns 26 just after Christmas. “And to be honest, after this, it’s ‘F*** 10-15 — you have nothing for me.’ I feel like those guys are below me.
“For me, I want the competitiveness, I want that number; I feel like I deserve a number. After a win here — a decisive win at that — and with the call-out I have in mind, we’ll see what happens; hopefully that fight comes together.
“And yeah, screw 10-15 — I don’t feel they have anything for me,” he added. “Those guys will obviously feel like they do, but records and resumes don’t lie, and they can see me if they want to.”
Some will certainly be taken aback by Allen’s forthright comments. Some will undoubtedly characterize him as cocky, and question the attitude of someone that landed on the wrong side of a one-sided result just a little more than a year ago.
But once again, it’s easy to see where the hungry, competitive kid from “The Bayou State” is coming from.