This April, Arnold Allen takes on one of the greatest strikers in UFC history Max Holloway in a five-round main event in Kanas City.
Some view Holloway as one of the greatest featherweights of all time, just behind Jose Aldo and his rival Alexander Volkanovski. Having fought and beat Jose Aldo on multiple occasions and giving Volkanovski two competitive fights on top of a respectable title defence run, Holloway will certainly be the favourite against the man from Ipswich.
In Jan 2021, Holloway put on a record-breaking performance against Calvin Kattar. Mid-fight, Holloway is shouting at the commentators, claiming he’s “the best boxer in the UFC” whilst slipping punches from Kattar. This took place just after a close fight will Alexander Volkanovski, which he lost, despite that he came back looking stronger than ever. Later that year, he fought and beat Yair Rodriguez to then challenge for the belt yet again.
During a Interview Arnold Allen Had This to Say
“I really enjoyed that streak [Holloway] went on, taking out all the top contenders,” Allen stated in a interview. “That 13-fight streak he went on is one of the better streaks there’s been in the UFC. That was pretty incredible.”
“If we’re talking straight boxing, I think [I’m better],” he said. “MMA is a different sport, and it doesn’t really translate, but yeah, I think so.
“I’m not gonna stand there and go blow for blow; I’m gonna move out the way, make you miss, and make you pay. I think Calvin landed a crazy amount of shots on him in that [2021] fight as well. They both sort of just obliged each other, stood in each other’s punching range; I ain’t doing that!”
Last March Allen co-headlined the first London fight card since 2019 in a bout against Dan Hooker which he won convincingly and then later that year fighting Calvin Kattar in a main event which he did win due to Kattar’s knee exploding mid-fight and leading to a TKO. Due to Allen’s resistance to being loud on the mic he missed out on an interim title shot.
Holloway’s Battle Tested Chin
When asked whether Holloway’s chin is potentially on the downfall after sustaining so much damage in his last three fights. He had this to say on the matter:
It’s definitely a factor,” he said. “It’s not like football, where you can play week-in, week-out, and if you lose 10 games in a row you take no damage. Your body gets damaged, your brain gets hurt, everything takes impact. You’re more susceptible to cuts, scar tissue, and all that stuff.”
“One thing a coach of mine said to me before was… it was more for young guys in the gym, taking shots by being silly, putting their hands down and stuff, but he said: ‘If someone told you there was a total number of shots you could take until your chin was gone, every shot would count.’ If someone said, ‘You’ve got 100 shots until your chin goes,’ you’d respect every shot. The thing is: That is a reality, we just don’t know the number. Everyone’s different.”
Quotes via The Independent
All very good points from Allen: Wear and tear are seemingly playing a greater and greater part in people’s careers. Will Holloway’s chin finally crumble under the strongman descendant’s powerful might?
Allen hopes to be the first man to knock Holloway out. Can he do it? Time will tell.
