Surging Talent Challenges Former UFC Champion Max Holloway

Getty Max Holloway

Former UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway would be keenly welcomed into the Octagon by English star Arnold Allen.

Allen (19-1), who has won all of his 10 UFC featherweight bouts, picked up a Fight Night headliner victory over Calvin Kattar in October. The second-round TKO win elevated “Almighty” to No. 4 in the official UFC 145-pound standings.

The 28-year-old fighter has his eyes on gold, but with champion Alexander Volkanovski challenging lightweight king Islam Makhachev on February 11, as well as Josh Emmett and Yair Rodriguez battling for the interim featherweight strap the same night in Australia, Allen said to AbzTalks that Holloway is the next best option to propel himself up the rankings.

“A lot of people are saying Max is the fight to make,” Allen said. “That would be a fun one. I don’t see why not. And also, I think a win over him would be a bigger statement, and then you probably throw your interim in the bin, right?”

The has been a lot of chatter in the MMA community that the UFC will return to the United Kingdom in March for a pay-per-view event. And if that’s the case, Allen wants on that card.

“My goal is to be the best in the world,” Allen said.

Holloway last competed at UFC 276 in July and he lost for the third time against Volkanovski — dropping the bout via a clear-cut unanimous decision.

Allen Was a ‘Little Bit Surprised’ He Wasn’t Chosen to Fight for the Interim Championship

It appeared to be a three-man race to see who would compete for the interim strap at Peth’s UFC 284. And Allen was the odd man out. And during the same interview, Allen gave his thoughts on missing out on the opportunity to fight for gold.

“I was a little bit surprised,” Allen said. “You know, just with the win streak. I know the last fight wasn’t ideal, but I thought you put the nine-fight win streak without the last one, that was more than worthy than either of what those guys have done.”

Allen’s fight with Kattar ended after the latter suffered a knee injury mid-fight, which didn’t give Almighty the sort of staple win that he was vying for.

Allen reaffirmed that would have been “nice to be a part of that,” but the traveling to Australia  “was far from ideal.”

“It should be a good fight,” Allen said about Rodriguez versus Emmett. “Fighting in Australia was far from ideal. It’s a long way away and all that. You have to fly a camp out there and all that — obviously for a world title you make it happen, but I guess it’s … my whole career has been like this. It’s a blessing in disguise and goal is never to be the interim champion. I want to be the champion.”

Allen Holds Wins Over Multiple Notable Names

With a professional record of 19-1, Allen’s sole loss came by unanimous decision in 2014 at CWFC 69 in London, England.

Since joining the UFC roster in 2015, Allen has rattled off 10 victories, beating notable names like Kattar, Dan Hooker, Gilbert Melendez, Nik Lentz and Sodiq Yusuff. Seven of Almighty’s wins have come via KO/TKO and four by submission.