Allen submits Duncan in fifth round to strengthen UFC middleweight title case

Brendan Allen moved firmly into middleweight title contention by submitting Christian Leroy Duncan in the fifth round of the UFC Vegas 122 main event on Saturday at Meta Apex in Las Vegas. Allen secured a rear-naked choke at 2:46 of the final round, improving his record to 28-7.

Allen’s grappling proved the decisive factor across the five-round contest. He scored a takedown against the cage in the fifth, worked his way to Duncan’s back and locked in the rear-naked choke. Duncan, known as “CLD”, attempted to escape before tapping out, handing “All In” a statement victory in the headliner.

In the co-main event, Jai Herbert defeated Matheus Camilo by unanimous decision at lightweight. Camilo started strongly with effective striking and ground control, but Herbert seized momentum on the canvas in the second round and targeted Camilo’s body and head with punches in the third. All three judges scored it 29-28 for Herbert, who improved to 15-6-1. Camilo fell to 11-4.

Lupita Godinez earned a unanimous decision over Ketlen Souza in a closely contested strawweight bout. Souza found success with her striking in the first two rounds, but Godinez secured a takedown in the third and controlled much of the remaining action. All three judges scored it 29-28 for Godinez, who improved to 15-6. Souza dropped to 17-7.

Andre Fili delivered a highlight-reel knockout against featherweight Kai Kamaka III. Fili hurt Kamaka with a left hook early in the second round before landing a right head kick that sent him unconscious to the canvas. Referee Chris Tognoni stopped the fight 22 seconds into the round, giving Fili his 26th career victory. Kamaka fell to 18-9-1.

At bantamweight, Otari Tanzilovi stopped Malcolm Wellmaker with a head kick and follow-up punches in the second round. Referee Marc Goddard intervened at 2:39, giving the Georgian a TKO victory. Wellmaker dropped to 10-3 while Tanzilovi improved to 11-2.

In the featured preliminary bout, Julius Walker stopped Gerald Meerschaert in the second round of their light heavyweight contest, improving to 8-3. Walker scored multiple takedowns and landed ground-and-pound until referee Herb Dean stopped the fight at 3:35. Meerschaert, who fell to 37-23, announced his retirement afterward.

Francisco Prado ended a run of four consecutive decision losses by earning his first UFC victory in more than three years. The Argentine attacked Ismael Bonfim with strikes and multiple takedowns before finishing with ground-and-pound at 4:23 of the first round. Bonfim, who missed weight by 7.5 pounds, dropped to 20-8.