Arnold Allen
Almighty
England
Rolls in Vegas main event
Allen defeated Melquizael Costa via unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 49-46) at UFC Fight Night on Saturday in Las Vegas.
ANALYSIS
Allen may not be on the same level as names such as Jean Silva, Movsar Evloev, or Max Holloway, three guys he's lost to within the past three-plus years, but he's still darn good and it's important to remember he will still handle most guys at 145 pounds without issue, as he did here against Costa. This was a competitive fight for a little over a round, at which point Arnold turned up the aggressiveness and took over. He landed the far more damaging blows on the feet, and most impressively, connected on all seven of his takedown attempts. By the time the fight was over, Allen had turned it into a rout. The next challenge for the 32-year-old Brit will be to pick up his first "career-defining victory."
Allen may not be on the same level as names such as Jean Silva, Movsar Evloev, or Max Holloway, three guys he's lost to within the past three-plus years, but he's still darn good and it's important to remember he will still handle most guys at 145 pounds without issue, as he did here against Costa. This was a competitive fight for a little over a round, at which point Arnold turned up the aggressiveness and took over. He landed the far more damaging blows on the feet, and most impressively, connected on all seven of his takedown attempts. By the time the fight was over, Allen had turned it into a rout. The next challenge for the 32-year-old Brit will be to pick up his first "career-defining victory."
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Next bout booked
Allen will fight Melquizael Costa at UFC Fight Night 276 on May 16 in Las Vegas, Nolan King of MMAJunkie.com reports.
ANALYSIS
Arnold's quest to resolidify himself as a contender at featherweight continues, after he came up short in a competitive yet clear loss against Jean Silva in January. Allen has lost three of his last four fights and will need to show he has fully recovered from the rotator cuff injury that kept him on the shelf for more than a year in 2024.
Arnold's quest to resolidify himself as a contender at featherweight continues, after he came up short in a competitive yet clear loss against Jean Silva in January. Allen has lost three of his last four fights and will need to show he has fully recovered from the rotator cuff injury that kept him on the shelf for more than a year in 2024.
Crushing defeat in Vegas
Allen lost to Jean Silva via unanimous decision (27-30, 28-29, 28-29) at UFC 324 on Saturday in Las Vegas.
ANALYSIS
This felt like a fight Allen had to have in a loaded featherweight division. He was competitive, but ultimately didn't do enough to win. Allen was the better man early, mixing things up and limiting Silva's offensive chances, but the bigger blows consistently came from the latter. Toss in the fact Allen allowed Silva -- not a noted wrestler -- to land four takedowns, and winning a decision became difficult. Allen has lost three of four dating back to April 2023, with the setbacks coming against Silva, Movsar Evloev and Max Holloway. He has just a single win dating back to October 2022.
This felt like a fight Allen had to have in a loaded featherweight division. He was competitive, but ultimately didn't do enough to win. Allen was the better man early, mixing things up and limiting Silva's offensive chances, but the bigger blows consistently came from the latter. Toss in the fact Allen allowed Silva -- not a noted wrestler -- to land four takedowns, and winning a decision became difficult. Allen has lost three of four dating back to April 2023, with the setbacks coming against Silva, Movsar Evloev and Max Holloway. He has just a single win dating back to October 2022.
Fighting Silva in January
Allen will fight Jean Silva at UFC 324 on Jan. 24, Marcel Dorff of Eurosport.nl reports.
ANALYSIS
The 31-year-old featherweight broke out of his brief losing streak with a win over Giga Chikadze in July. Allen will now attempt to stay in the win column while facing Silva, who suffered his first UFC loss during his most recent bout.
The 31-year-old featherweight broke out of his brief losing streak with a win over Giga Chikadze in July. Allen will now attempt to stay in the win column while facing Silva, who suffered his first UFC loss during his most recent bout.
Snaps brief losing streak
Allen defeated Giga Chikadze via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) at UFC 304 on Saturday in Manchester, England.
ANALYSIS
It was a big rebound performance from Allen on the heels of back-to-back unanimous decision defeats to two of the best fighters the featherweight division has to offer in Movsar Evloev and Max Holloway. Allen was more than content to engage Chikadze in a kickboxing match despite the fact it was widely believed to have a significant grappling advantage. He didn't attempt a single takedown. Instead, he floored the gas pedal on the feet and began to pull away from his tiring opponent over the course of the final ten minutes. Arnold still needs that one career-defining win, but he's trending in the right direction in a loaded 145-pound division.
It was a big rebound performance from Allen on the heels of back-to-back unanimous decision defeats to two of the best fighters the featherweight division has to offer in Movsar Evloev and Max Holloway. Allen was more than content to engage Chikadze in a kickboxing match despite the fact it was widely believed to have a significant grappling advantage. He didn't attempt a single takedown. Instead, he floored the gas pedal on the feet and began to pull away from his tiring opponent over the course of the final ten minutes. Arnold still needs that one career-defining win, but he's trending in the right direction in a loaded 145-pound division.
Facing Chikadze in July
Allen will take on Giga Chikadze in a featherwight bout at UFC 304 in Manchester, England on July 27, per Nolan King of USA Today.
ANALYSIS
Allen will take on Chikadze in a three-round battle in his home country at UFC 304 in Manchester, England. Prior to a pair of decision losses to Max Holloway and Movsar Evloev, respectively, "Almighty" Allen rode a 10-fight win streak dating back to his UFC debut in 2015. The five-foot-eight Englishman will hope to use the home crowd's energy to get back to his winning ways against the larger Georgian.
Allen will take on Chikadze in a three-round battle in his home country at UFC 304 in Manchester, England. Prior to a pair of decision losses to Max Holloway and Movsar Evloev, respectively, "Almighty" Allen rode a 10-fight win streak dating back to his UFC debut in 2015. The five-foot-eight Englishman will hope to use the home crowd's energy to get back to his winning ways against the larger Georgian.