Brendan Allen Reveals 'Title or Nothing' Fight Pact With Khamzat Chimaev

Brendan Allen has no interest in fighting Khamzat Chimaev — unless the UFC middleweight title is on the line. Speaking on MMA Junkie Radio this week, the contender revealed that he and the former champion have a standing pact to never face each other inside the Octagon except for a championship.

"We have the agreement that we're not gonna fight each other unless it's for gold," Allen said. "So, if it's for the belt, then we're gonna fight. At least for me, I don't have the fame, the financial security to be able to sit there and be like, 'Nah.' I have to."

"Fighting for the belt changes my life, and it changes my family's life," Allen continued. "Everyone that I've ever come in contact with knows that about me: if it's for a belt, there's no questions that's gonna be asked from my end."

From sparring partners to title threats

Allen joined Chimaev's training camp as a sparring partner ahead of UFC 328, when "Borz" defended — and ultimately lost — the middleweight title against Sean Strickland in May. Allen has since credited Chimaev with exposing gaps in his grappling, and he made clear that visiting the champion's camp did not mean switching teams.

"If someone has to beat me, I'd rather it be my friend," Allen said. "I'm sorry, we're gonna have to figure it out, but to me, the belt changes whoever's life wins it. So, if it's a guy that I respect and like, and care about, then f*ck it. We just gotta do it because it could change his family's life, and if I care about him, if we're friends, then I would want that for him."

Allen's position reflects where he sits in the division. He is 28-7 overall and 16-4 in the UFC, riding a four-fight winning streak that has moved him to within three spots of the No. 1-ranked Chimaev in the Meta UFC middleweight rankings. The streak followed consecutive losses to Nassourdine Imavov and Anthony Hernandez, and runs through Marvin Vettori, Reinier de Ridder and Edmen Shahbazyan before the October main-event breakthrough.

The win that made the pact matter

That breakthrough came on October 10, when Allen headlined a UFC Fight Night card in Las Vegas against Christian Leroy Duncan and submitted him with a rear-naked choke at 2:46 of the fifth round. Duncan's range work, an eye-poke interruption and a fourth-round striking response all tested Allen before the final takedown and back take sealed it.

The victory turned Allen from a divisional gatekeeper into a genuine title problem — and made the Chimaev question unavoidable. Chimaev, 15-1 overall and 9-1 in the UFC, sits at No. 1 in the rankings after suffering his first professional defeat: a split-decision loss to Strickland at UFC 328 that ended his title reign in his first defense.

Chimaev still disputes that result. "I won the match, but they took my belt," he said, and he has scrapped an expected move up to light heavyweight to chase revenge instead.

A crowded middleweight picture

The wrinkle for both men is that the title picture does not obviously have room for either of them next. Strickland is lined up to run it back with Imavov rather than grant Chimaev an immediate rematch — a snub that prompted Chimaev to take matters into his own hands with a $1 million personal offer to Strickland, made on X on October 5.

Chimaev has since clarified the money is only on the table for an immediate rematch. "If he accepts tomorrow, yeah," he said. "He not accepting, like, after a couple of years. Why should I pay? It's gonna anyway it's gonna happen. If I accept, like next fight against me, I will pay." Strickland has not publicly responded.

Meanwhile, Du Plessis's coach Morne Visser recently said his team has accepted Allen "in principle" but still lacks a date and contract, with the UFC apparently waiting on Hernandez's November assignment. Asked about a hypothetical vacant belt, Allen backed himself against Imavov, citing activity and ranked wins.

Allen expects his MMA return around February or March; any December activity would be wrestling or jiu-jitsu instead.

Separate assignments at RAF 14

For now, the friends will appear on the same card — not opposite each other. Both are booked on Real American Freestyle's RAF 14 card this Friday at the Fontainebleau in Las Vegas, streaming on Fox Nation. Chimaev meets UFC Hall of Famer Robbie Lawler in the catchweight crossover co-main — "Borz" is 2-0 in RAF — while Allen faces former Bellator champion Alexander Shlemenko, stepping in after Michael Page withdrew.

Friends crossing paths at the top of a division is nothing new — Aljamain Sterling and Merab Dvalishvili famously refused to fight each other for years at bantamweight. But Allen's version is the opposite of a refusal: a pre-negotiated exception that keeps the door open exactly where it matters most.

"If it's for a belt, there's no questions that's gonna be asked from my end," Allen repeated. The pact is not a promise to avoid Chimaev forever. It is a promise to meet him only where the stakes justify the friendship.