For this segment of In Perspective, BrawlTalk’s Will Miller spoke with retired UFC heavyweight Allen Crowder about his fighting career, his journey to the UFC, his experiences in the Octagon, his favorite fight moments, and more. 

Allen listed one of his favorite memories as earning a UFC contract by knocking out Don’Tale Mayes as an underdog on Dana White’s Contender Series 8 in 2017. The bout saw Crowder win by way of elbows in round three. He enjoyed taking the upset win to earn his contract, and doing so in Las Vegas. He fought in Bellator prior to coming in to compete on the Contender Series, and took advantage of the chance to enter the UFC after his manager contacted him and informed him of the opportunity. 

As for the top atmosphere of his UFC career, Crowder cited his co-main event booking against former NFL Pro Bowler Greg Hardy at the UFC’s Brooklyn, New York card in January 2019. The card, headlined by a flyweight title tilt between Henry Cejudo and TJ Dillashaw, presented Crowder with the chance to showcase his skills against the high-profile debutant, a chance he was excited for. He talked about enjoying the hyped crowd, and had high praise for the athleticism of Hardy, stating that his huge power and potential mean that there’s no reason he couldn’t be a champion someday. When speaking about the high-profile nature of a fight with a former football star, Allen, who has a football background himself, said that he wanted to capitalize on the co-main slot on the massive card. While he is the official winner of the fight, by disqualification, he said that he didn’t win it the way he wanted to. When asked which fight he was the most amped for going in, he named the Hardy bout.  

With regard to fighting styles, Allen said he enjoys fighting kickboxers, although it is ‘about even’ and ‘a close call’ with wrestling and jiu-jitsu. He worked on developing his wrestling after fighting former heavyweight contender Justin Willis, which was also his official UFC banner debut. He also said that weight was an advantage for him, as he walked at around 255 pounds. In a brief discussion about whether a move to 205 pounds would have even been a possibility, he said that although he may have given it some thought, tests revealed that it wouldn’t have ever materialized. As for his own fighting style, Crowder said he thought his cardio with respect to pacing was an advantage for him, as was his strength for his size and his ground game. He said if he had the chance to face any opponent while he was still with UFC, it would have been a second go-around against Curtis Blaydes. The two fought in 2015, before either was in the UFC. 

Where training is concerned, Crowder said he enjoyed the actual fights more. He described training as a constant grind, saying it was different from his experience in football. He did a 12-week fight camp leading up to his final UFC appearance against Jairzinho Rozenstruik, and went all out training in different aspects, like sparring and wrestling, to get ready.  

In terms of career impact, Allen named his coaches, as well as his wife and his father, as having had the most impact on him. He was grateful for the support his father provided him when he was coming up in the sport and said he wouldn’t have made the UFC without him. He also pointed out his wife’s support, saying that she supported him while he was first getting in with the UFC, as they had a child right around that time as well. Crowder praised his coaches for providing help and support, such as helping out and checking in with him while he was traveling. He also named some fighters of whom he is a fan, such as heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou and future interim title challenger Derrick Lewis, and reminisced about training with current UFC welterweight king Kamaru Usman. 

As far as what Allen enjoyed most about being in the UFC, he stated that he liked the attention it brought, but also enjoyed the accomplishment, as he took the time to note that of the select few to compete at a high level in the sport, even fewer make it to the world’s premier organization.

The hype surrounding the UFC 264 main event, the culmination of the triolgy between Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor, was considerable. To accompany the prospect of a lightweight title shot for the victor, the bout was further intensified by the return of McGregor’s legendary heel persona. Loved by some fans and maligned by others, the Irish superstar has nevertheless remained the biggest star in mixed martial arts history, as the event drew 1.8 million buys globally, eclipsing the 1.6 million mark set by the pair in January for their second fight.

The number represents the second-most purchases of a pay-per-view show in UFC history. First, of course, is the UFC 229 card headlined by McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov in 2018 (2.4 million). The third-highest sits at 1.6 million buys each for Poirier vs McGregor 2 and Diaz vs McGregor 2. It stands to reason that a third fight between McGregor and Nate Diaz would do similar numbers. Poirier’s defeat of McGregor had Dana White calling for a fourth matchup between the pairing, which could land in that range as well.

Of the highest-selling UFC shows, a large amount of them have McGregor’s name on them. The Irishman has been in the main event of almost every UFC pay-per-view card he has ever been on, and all but one of those events was purchased by a million people or more.

The rising star of high-level bantamweight prospect Sean O’Malley was on full display to open the main card of UFC 264, as he took care of newcomer Kris Moutinho and scored a stoppage win. Perhaps the most notable talking point of the fight, though, was the grit and perseverance of Moutinho, who took the bout on eleven days’ notice to replace Louis Smolka. Herb Dean might have saved the promotional newcomer from himself at the tail end of the third and final round, stopping the show at the 4:33 mark. 

Moutinho (9-5 MMA, 0-1 UFC) absorbed over two hundred significant strikes from O’Malley (14-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC), who might not have expected his opponent to stay with him as long as he did. He ate power punch after power punch and kept pushing on. In fact, he was still standing tall when referee Dean finally decided he had seen enough. O’Malley was never in any kind of trouble, but it seemed for a few moments that no matter what he did, he wasn’t going to be able to get Moutinho out of there. During his post-fight remarks, O’Malley referred to Moutinho as ‘a tough motherf*****’ and praised him for taking on the challenge with such short notice to work with. Previous opponents which had emerged to replace Smolka, including veteran Ricky Simon, ultimately proved unable to make the 135-pound bantamweight limit on time. 

There is ample truth in O’Malley’s words, as his opponent amazed fans with his toughness. Both O’Malley and Moutinho were ultimately awarded the Fight of the Night bonus, which for UFC 264 was increased to $75,000 from the usual $50,000. The bonus payday is certainly a nice addition to what can be considered a relative success for Kris Moutinho, who stood in the Octagon with a lethal competitor and made a great many new fans with his full-of-heart performance. 

O’Malley took the opportunity after the slugfest to call out a number of top bantamweight contenders, including the legendary Dominick Cruz, whom he accused of ducking him. One can imagine that Moutinho did enough with his chance to at least earn a second showcase under the UFC banner.