“I mean, (De Ridder’s resume) doesn’t impress me,” Allen said during the UFC Vancouver media day. “Maybe I’m hard to impress, but there’s not one fight or one moment where you’re like, ‘Oh man, this guy’s crazy,’ or he’s something special. He’s tough, he’s durable, his jiu-jitsu’s not bad … but really, what else is there? I don’t know, maybe you see something different than me, but I haven’t seen anything where I’m just like, ‘Oh man, he’s something special. He’s got that it [factor].‘ Maybe he’s got something that needs to be a little more polished. It doesn’t stand out to me, but hey, he’s getting wins. Good for him.” “It’s just like I’ve always wanted to fight the guy,” Allen continued. “And why? I just think it’s a great matchup for me. It’s just that simple. I think it’s a great matchup for me stylistically, and what better way to hit the Top 5 than to beat him and beat him in a main event. I’m back on the poster, it’s just kind of putting me back where I planned to be, to be honest with you. That was the opportunity, and bigger the risk, bigger the reward.”

Bookies have De Ridder as a healthy betting favorite based on his most recent victory over former middleweight champion Robert Whittaker, though Allen claims the 34 year-old “Reaper” is “washed.” I’m not sure what measurements Allen is using for his criteria but outside of De Ridder, the Aussie has only lost to three other opponents during his 14-4 run at 185 pounds and his defeat to the “Dutch Knight” was fairly close. And if Whittaker is washed … then what does that make Allen, who was finished by way of technical knockout in losses to Chris Curtis and Sean Strickland? Knocking around a braindead Marvin Vettori is not the flex it used to be, especially when you consider “The Italian Dream” had just lost his brother in a tragic house fire before their fight.

This bout was taken on short notice but Allen is an active fighter and has already competed twice this year, so it’s not like he’s jumping off the couch following an extended absence. I’m just not sure any version of Allen beats De Ridder if we’re basing our prediction on his performances against Imavov and Hernandez. “Fluffy” was 4-for-8 on takedown attempts in their fight while the unheralded Jacob Malkoun was 7-for-14, so it’s easy to envision a scenario where De Ridder takes Allen to the floor and controls him. Probably not the barnburner fight that fans were hoping for, but neither was Khamzat Chimaev’s victory over Dricus Du Plessis at UFC 319 — and that ended with “Borz” holding the title.