Brendan Allen’s emphatic fifth-round submission of Christian Leroy Duncan in the UFC Vegas 122 main event has sharpened focus on his next middleweight outing, with the #4-ranked contender explicitly naming former champion Dricus Du Plessis as the only logical opponent. Allen cited prior bad blood, a previously agreed matchup, and his four-fight win streak as reasons to skip further prospects, while declaring he will not compete again in 2026. Du Plessis holds the highest implied probability among named options at 34 percent, ahead of Caio Borralho and Joe Pyfer, yet the tight clustering around multiple middleweight names reflects scheduling uncertainty, Du Plessis’s own title picture complications, and the absence of an official booking. Trader consensus therefore remains divided until the UFC confirms Allen’s Q1 2027 slot.