Arnold
Allen has gradually worked his way up the featherweight ladder
during his tenure with the Ultimate Fighting Championship,
compiling a 10-bout winning streak as quietly as one possibly
can.
Advertisement
The 29-year-old Englishman will be impossible to ignore if he wins
his next matchup, a main event clash with former featherweight
champ Max
Holloway at UFC
on ESPN 44 on April 15.
“Mentally I feel fantastic. It’s the opportunity of a lifetime,”
Allen recently told assembled media at UFC 286. “It’s a very
dangerous guy who’s beat a lot of top contenders, and he’s beaten
them very well. He’s been a world champion, he’s been
pound-for-pound No. 1. He’s stepped up to lightweight and had wars
with people like Dustin
Poirier. I’m very excited for the opportunity to challenge
someone like that and show what I’m able to do.”
Holloway is regarded as one of the sport’s top 145-pound talents of
all time. The Hawaiian known as “Blessed” was an established
commodity as Allen began working his way toward the top of the
division earlier in his career. As a result, “Almighty” is pretty
familiar with what his opponent does well without the benefit of
additional tape study.
“As a featherweight, I’ve always watched Max. He’s very exciting.
Everyone enjoys his fights; he seems like a cool guy too … I know
what he does,” Allen said. “He’s gonna throw about a million
punches, kicks, knees and elbows. He’s gonna try and take my head
off. He’s gonna keep peppering me like I’m a German sausage or
something. I know what he’s gonna do, so I don’t need to watch it.
I know what I need to do to get a win, and all I’m doing is working
on that.”
While Holloway has beaten a who’s who at featherweight over the
years, one adversary who’s had his number is Alexander
Volkanovski. Holloway fell to 0-3 against the reigning
featherweight champion following a clear-cut unanimous decision
loss at UFC 276 last July. UFC on ESPN 44 will mark the Hawaiian’s
first Octagon appearance since then, but Allen disputes the
sentiment that Holloway might have lost a step.
“I think he took a lot of damage in the fight. He didn’t
necessarily look offbeat, I just think Volkanovski looked a level
above,” Allen said. “A lot of people, fans, contacted me saying how
he’s washed up, he’s done. Is he? It’s just Volkanovski’s on
another level. I thought he beat Islam
Makhachev the other day as well. It’s Volkanovski, he’s just
running away. He’s getting better and better. I don’t think
Holloway is a step behind [the time] when he was champion…
Volkanovski is just that good.”
However, Allen does acknowledge that the mileage of years of fights
might eventually take its toll on Holloway. That said, the Tristar
Gym representative expects his opponent to maintain an
offensive-minded approach come fight night.
“Mentally, I don’t think it’s affected him at all. I think he’s
fine,” Allen said. “He’s gonna keep coming with the same game plan,
and I don’t think he’s gonna be deterred. He’s gonna throw five
[strikes], maybe you land four or whatever. He’s gonna be happy
with that. It’s science. It’s gonna catch up to you. We’ve seen it
with a lot of athletes over the years. He’s tough as nails and I
don’t think it’s gonna change anything he does.”
While Volkanovski appears to have a future date with interim
145-pound champ Yair
Rodriguez, Allen knows that defeating Holloway will eventually
get him to where he wants to be.
“If you want to be world champion, you have to beat the No. 1 guys.
And for me, outside of the champion, Max
Holloway is the No. 1 guy,” he said. “I don’t think there’s any
other guys calling Max
Holloway out. I was asking for that fight. That was the fight
that made sense to me and fortunately we got it.”