Coach Harun Ozkan has explained his decision to pull Reinier de Ridder from his main-event clash at UFC Vancouver after the fourth round, saying it “was the right call.”

Middleweight contender and former ONE Championship two-weight champion De Ridder faced Brendan Allen last Saturday night and, after a strong start, faded under persistent pressure before his corner stopped the fight after the Dutchman entered UFC Vancouver on a multi-fight win streak and appeared close to a title opportunity.

Allen, stepping in on short notice, took over after the first round and dominated the remainder of the contest, prompting de Ridder’s corner to halt the bout to prevent further damage.

Coach Ozkan offered insight into his decision-making process. “Last night didn’t go as we wanted. After a very strong start in the first round, things quickly started fading and we couldn’t really recover from the shots in and after the second round,” said Ozkan. “I made the call to stop the fight after the fourth round. I take full responsibility for that decision and it was the right call to make for me in the moment.”

Ozkan added: “My job is to coach, but also to look out for my fighter’s health. I’ve been with Reinier for basically his whole career and saw too many signs that made me step in. If I didn’t do anything, he would’ve continued the fight. Rather than risk unnecessary damage, I decided to call it a day and go home as healthy as possible.”

The result alters the middleweight landscape. With de Ridder’s title push halted, Allen moves closer to the top of the division and could emerge as a leading candidate to challenge Khamzat Chimaev. De Ridder will now need to regroup and rebuild before returning to contention.