Brendan Allen said he took all of two seconds to accept a short-notice main event opening vs. Reinier de Ridder.

It'll take all of 30 pounds lost for him to get down to middleweight ahead of the Oct. 18 bout, but Allen (25-7 MMA, 13-4 UFC) is confident he has not only enough time to make the weight but also put on an impressive showing.

The five-round middleweight showdown takes place at UFC Fight Night 262 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia. While a win for de Ridder (21-2 MMA, 4-0 UFC) could result in a title shot, Allen said he's not under any delusions that a win will do the same for him.

"Short answer is no," Allen recently told MMA Junkie Radio when asked if he thought a win could leapfrog him into title contention. "I don't have the following that he does. I lost a close decision to (Nassourdine Imavov) not too long ago. What was it? A year or two ago? Short answer is no. I'm just being realistic. Could it? Potentially. But that's a super low chance, in my opinion."

Whether it's in a month or a year, Allen thinks that if he ever is within an arm's reach of title gold, the stylistic matchup he presents current champion Khamzat Chimaev is unlike the other options at the top. Allen says that if Chimaev is looking for an easy or one-dimensional opponent, he should pick someone else.

"If Chimaev wants a young guy that's good at grappling, can strike, and give him all the challenges he wants, I'm your man," Allen said. "But if he wants a guy who is a striker with pretty good takedown defense, but his ground isn't really up to par, then he takes Imavov. Before this was a question, if de Ridder was in the topic, it's just a guy that's got good ground, no wrestling, and his hands aren't really that good. He's just awkward.

"Then, you take that. But again, he's the champion. He won that belt. The UFC and him make those decisions above my pay grade. I just go in there and fight who I'm supposed to. I've got a good contract. Life is good, I'm not complaining about nothing. I've just got to go out there and handle business."

Allen and de Ridder both train out of Kill Cliff FC in Deerfield Beach, Fla., but have purposely avoided working with one another in anticipation of a potential showdown. Allen said he's heard nothing but good things about de Ridder and that it's not personal – just business.

"The point was to cross paths eventually, especially as he was gaining traction and getting more hype and everything like that," Allen said. "So for me, there was no real reason to train with him, to be honest."

De Ridder has impressed the UFC brass since coming over from ONE Championship, where he was a titleholder. In 11 months, he has wins over Gerald Meerschaert, Kevin Holland, Bo Nickal, and Robert Whittaker.

While no opponent has served as de Ridder's kryptonite yet, Allen thinks the game plan that he's concocted will hand the surging Dutch fighter his first promotional loss.

"We have a good game plan," Allen said. "I've learned it's not really about ego. I've always wanted to beat the guy at where they are best at just to prove a point. But I'm good everywhere. It's just implementing all the things we strategize about and work really hard on in the training room. It's about being more mature and getting the win and trying to get it impressively. If it touches the ground, which I'm sure it's going to touch the ground because I'm going to take him down at some point. But it's going to be on my terms. I'll show there is a big difference. But yeah, I look forward to it. I look forward to testing those transitions and those situations and seeing how good he is off his back. We'll see.

"… I feel very confident where I'm at. I'm hitting my prime if I'm not already in it or about to be. I feel good mentally and physically, so it's time to make that title run and he's just the next guy on that journey."

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC middleweight contender refuses delusions ahead of headliner

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