Brendan Allen explains how he cleared air with Chimaev

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Brendan Allen, a rising name in the middleweight division, has had his eye on Khamzat Chimaev for quite some time now.

Recent reports confirmed that Allen has been working with Chimaev to help him get ready for his title defense, adding another layer to their history.

Clips from those training sessions made their way online, sparking criticism from Sean Strickland and others who were quick to share their thoughts.

Although Allen hasn’t always been the biggest supporter of ‘Borz’, past comments didn’t prevent them from joining forces when it mattered.

Brendan Allen discusses previous comments on Khamzat Chimaev after training together

Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

After Brendan Allen’s win over Reinier de Ridder last October, he took aim at Khamzat Chimaev, who at the time was talking about a potential move up to light heavyweight.

Comments like calling the middleweight champion a “big talker” might have created some tension when they first linked up for training. But Allen said they sorted it all out before ever stepping into the gym together.

“Overall, great experience, nothing negative,” he told MMA Junkie. “I know it’s going to come out eventually that I used to talk s— or talk about Khamzat, but like I had that conversation with him and his team before I came here. It was just trying to get the fight. I wanted to fight him. I knew he had the biggest name at the time.”

Allen also didn’t hide from the fact that some of their rounds were tough. He pointed out that they were in different stages of their camps and wasn’t too concerned by how things went.

‘All In’ felt both fighters took something away from their time together.