If you don’t know anything about up-and-coming MMA talent Justin Allen yet, just wait a year.

The talented prospect out of Indiana has big plans for his burgeoning MMA career and he’s got the skills to back up his dreams.

One needs to look no further “The Bodysnatcher’s” last fight against Brandon Bolt this past June to fully understand what type of competitor he is. Allen was dropped directly on his head with an illegal slam and not only came back to continue the match, but came back with a vengeance.

“There was a lot of emotions in that fight,” says Allen. “I was kinda nervous to let my hands go because I didn’t want to be taken down and I knew the guy was looking for the takedown. I finally did start to open up a bit and what I thought was gonna happen happened. He closed the distance on me and pressed me against the cage. He went for a single and I tried to defend it and he just scooped me up and slammed me right on my head, turned me upside-down. I didn’t know quite what happened, if the ref had stopped it. I was confused and by the time I got up I was ready to go. It woke me up a little bit though.”

The referee had wisely seen the illegal head spike and after taking a brief moment to recover, Allen made the most of his second chance.

“He took me down one more time and I realized as soon as we hit the ground that his jiu-jitsu wasn’t as good as mine so immediately I wasn’t afraid of his takedown any more. I ended up taking his back and locked in the rear naked choke.”

Already off to a quick 3-0 start, Allen is ready to graduate from the Indiana circuit and start squaring off on the international level. His talents have also caught the eye of some top MMA management companies.

“My next fight, from what I’m understanding, is happening in Europe. It’s supposed to be in October if I’m not mistaken and I just can’t wait. I recently signed with new management and I’ve got a new manager, Shu Hirata. He’s a nice guy and he’s got a lot of fighters. I got into contact with him through Mike Camp. My manager is with a team called Sucker Punch entertainment. I’m very excited to work with them.”

Allen has humble beginnings in the sport, with not much background in anything but the sweet science before taking the plunge.

“I was actually a boxer,” Allen says nonchalantly. “I started off in boxing when I was about 10 years old and my dad got me into boxing and I went to the gym, my first gym was with Chris Lytle and Jake O’Brien and they just kinda pulled me in and I started learning other parts of MMA like jiu-jitsu. I went from training boxing to training MMA and one day I just took a fight, right after I turned 18 and I’ve been fighting ever since.”

 

With all that work in the stand-up, it’s no surprise that he feels his strongest asset as a fighter is his striking.

“I’m a stand-up fighter,” claims Allen. “I have great boxing, I feel my boxing is some of the best out there. My kickboxing is getting better, I have a black belt in kickboxing. My jiu-jitsu is blue belt level or higher and my wrestling, it’s coming along and I know enough to defend the takedown but I’m mainly a striker.”

While he got his start with the likes of Chris Lytle, it’s no surprise that Allen, an Indiana native, wound up at the esteemed Indiana Brazilian jiu-jitsu Academy

“I train at IBJJA now. It’s a great gym and they’ve got a good MMA program there. The jiu-jitsu is just phenomenal and they’ve got a lot of instructors there that are really good at what they do. I’m glad to be a part of what they’ve got going on right now in their MMA programs and their jiu-jitsu.”

The talented young prospect has his sights set on world domination, traveling the globe and taking on all comers.

“I’m hoping after Europe to go fight in Dream. That’s a goal for me. Within a year, I’d like to travel and fight as much as I can, make as money as I can and do what I love to do. I just want to go anywhere though. I want to go wherever they’ll take me, wherever I can get to fight, that’s where I want to go.”

There’s no doubt that Justin draws his biggest inspiration from his father, who’s taken a vested interest in his training and his MMA career. In talking with him, he certainly wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for his dad’s continuous support.

“My dad is amazing,” Allen explained when asked about who keeps him grounded. “He motivates me and he’s always there when I need advise inside and outside the cage. He’s been my trainer for I don’t even know how long, ever since the day I threw my first punch. He plays a really big role in my life and my MMA career.”

We’ll definitely be paying close attention to Justin as he continues to progress.

When asked about who he’d like to thank, Justin quickly made sure to mention Kyle Helsper who owns a tattoo studio and he’s been a friend of his family for a long time and who does great work.